


Fall for you

by Swolosheep



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Guardian Angels, Everyone is British, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Oh Sehun, Minor Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin, because why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-06 18:31:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15200840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swolosheep/pseuds/Swolosheep
Summary: Like most people his age, Chanyeol doesn’t believe in heaven, angels or anything in that direction. That’s until Baekhyun, his apparent guardian angel, literally comes crashing into his life. This changes Chanyeol’s whole world view, causing him to inherently be uncomfortable around Baekhyun. He would prefer to have the angel out of his hair as soon as possible, eagerly offering his help to get Baekhyun back to heaven. Only somewhere along the way Chanyeol falls for Baekhyun almost as hard as the guy crashed into his apartment. Now instead of anticipating his departure, Chanyeol dreads it. Can he make Baekhyun stay?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very thankful for my Beta, [Spookje](https://www.asianfanfics.com/profile/view_author_stories/832529/L). Without her, this story would be filled with me forgetting the ‘h’ in though, which wouldn’t be a pleasant reading experience for anyone. 
> 
> The Very Origional Title taken from one of the many bops on the 'Universe' album, 'Fall'.
> 
> Enjoy reading!

The sight of heavy rainfall is nothing unusual around this time a year in England. Chanyeol’s eyes follow two droplets racing to the bottom of the window, rooting for the one that inevitably ends up losing. He shifts his gaze from the window to the half-finished school work lying in front of him, sparing it one last glance before pushing it away. The soft patter of the rain against the windows is the only sound that can be heard in his apartment. There is no one besides Chanyeol to fill the silence, except for his pet rabbit Tony. When Chanyeol turned 18, he couldn’t wait to get out of the house, craving for a place to call his own. At first, it was like a dream come true. He could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, ideal for a bloke his age. It was great until slowly but steadily, the loneliness started creeping up on him.

He had barely noticed it at first, but when he started to dread coming home to an empty apartment, the realisation dawned on him. In an effort to combat the loneliness, he bought the fluffy, blue eyed bunny staring at him through the glass of animal shelter he passed by frequently on his way to the bus stop. He had never really paid the shelter any mind, that was until his apartment felt too empty. So when those beady little eyes were practically begging him to take him home, he couldn’t resist. With his shiny, soft, white fur, floppy ears that hang down the side of his head, Tony could easily take home the crown of cutest bunny in the world (according to Chanyeol at least). Yet it wasn’t enough. A bunny couldn’t fill up the hole in his chest he felt every time he came ‘home’. 

Chanyeol feels a little guilty for downplaying Tony’s presence like that, so he crouches down next to his bunny, gently petting his snow white coat. Tony acknowledges him by slightly pressing himself against Chanyeol’s hand, causing him to chuckle. This wasn’t that bad, his pet snuggling up to him while he leaned against the cool surface of the kitchen wall. He could easily dose off like this, only a loud crash coming from the living room prevented him from doing just that. Chanyeol shoots up and clutches his phone in his hand, ready to call 9-9-9 just in case. He slowly makes his way to the living room, trying his hardest not to make a sound. Another crash, followed by screaming is what causes Chanyeol to make a run for it. The sight that greets him is nothing short of ridiculous yet incredibly terrifying.

There, in the middle of his living room, two guys are fighting in what seems like a battle for their lives. The taller of the two is clad in a blood-red suit and has the other man pressed up against the wall, if he can even be called a man. His facial features aren’t the only thing that’s angelic about him, he’s clad in beautiful golden armour and there are actual wings spouting from his back. Chanyeol arrived just in time to see the smaller one stab the man holding him down, who then proceeds to evaporate into thin air. The man in armour starts heaving and slides down the wall, his pearly white wings twitching slightly. The wings are starting to shed feathers, before they disappear completely along with his armour, leaving him in nothing more than crème coloured, silky looking ropes. All that’s left is a single feather, white contrasting heavily with the dark, wooden colour of Chanyeol’s living room floor. 

After witnessing all of that, Chanyeol remains glued to his spot, phone still in his hand. It isn’t until the other looks up with watery eyes that Chanyeol bolts out of the living room. He does what he thinks is best in this situation: he flees. He quickly pulls Tony in his arms and speeds out of his apartment. He can hear an unfamiliar voice shouting his name from behind him over the sound of his footsteps hitting the pavement. One glance behind his shoulder confirms that it’s the angel-like bloke that’s calling him. There is no time to ponder on how that guy even knows his name, all of his focus goes to shedding his follower. The shouting is only getting louder, the other guy gaining distance by the seconds. Chanyeol thought that he had pretty good stamina, but the other man is apparently some kind of super athlete. He starts to panic and takes a quick left, groaning when he comes face to face with an impossible-to-climb fence, especially since he still has Tony pressed against his chest.

There is no backing out now. The only thing Chanyeol can do is beg for mercy, hope he doesn’t get killed for being a mere witness. His heartbeat skyrockets when the man who just chased him through almost the entire town takes a looming step closer. “Chanyeol,” he calls out softly. He looks stressed out and confused, not an expression he’d expect from a guy who has come to kill him. Now that he has the time to take in the man’s features, Chanyeol notices that his stance is rather defensive and that he’s also quite a bit shorter than him. Maybe he’s more merciful than he initially thought and wants to bargain. 

“Who are you and what do you want?” He tries to sound and look as intimidating as possible, but his shaky voice and the fluffy bunny still in his arms don’t make it an easy task. Somehow it results in the other man looking even more uncertain, fingers playing with the fabric of his ropes. 

“It might be a better idea to discuss that back at your apartment.” When he’s not frantically shouting Chanyeol’s name, the guy’s voice is actually quite pleasant. And even though this only adds to the notion that the man is probably not out to get him, Chanyeol’s mind is still screaming at him to refuse. On the other hand, the person standing in front of him is likely not even human and could easily smite him is he says no. With that in mind, the decision between letting a complete stranger into his home and actually dying is easily made. He motions the man to follow him and leads the way on wobbly legs. Now that the adrenaline pumping through his veins is starting to wind down, the rational part of his brain takes over.   
He just saw a guy who somehow managed to get into his apartment without opening the door, kill another man who somehow disappeared without a trace. Worst of all, he is leading the murderer to his home. It’s evident that he doesn’t want to kill him, or he would have done so in the abandoned alleyway. But what other things does this guy have in store? 

“My name is Baekhyun, by the way,” the man mentions casually, as if his name was the biggest question in Chanyeol’s mind. He has no idea what to respond, so he just keeps his mouth shut and lets the silence fall between them again. Tony shifts in his arms. In an effort to calm his upset rabbit down, Chanyeol lifts his hand and scratches behind Tony’s floppy ears. 

“I’m sorry if I’m stressing out, Tony. He seems so restless.” Baekhyun seems genuinely concerned with the wellbeing of his pet, shooting Chanyeol an apologetic look before averting his eyes. Chanyeol furrows his brows.

“Wait, how did you-”

“We’re here,” Baekhyun interrupts, triumphantly pointing his finger towards Chanyeol’s apartment building. No more words are shared between the pair as they make their way to Chanyeol’s place. An apartment for themselves is not a luxury many student’s his age are able to afford. He mostly has his father to thank for it, who noticed his desire to move out and raised his salary. That’s the advantage of having your father as your boss. At first, Chanyeol was reluctant to take up his offer to work in the restaurant. It turned out just fine though, his father clearly knowing the line between their professional relationship and their family bond. He still works there, accepting his far too high salary without a fight. There is no way that Chanyeol can ever pay back his dad, but he tries his best by taking up extra shifts and visiting his parent’s at least every weekend. 

The steel handle of his front door feels cold under his fingers, pulling his thoughts back to the present. It’s quite the struggle opening the door while still holding Tony in one hand. Somehow he manages and all but stumbles inside. The first thing he does is put down his bunny, who immediately scurries away, leaving him alone with Baekhyun. While Chanyeol is still standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room, Baekhyun walks around like he owns the place. He doesn’t even take the time to look around, instead he plants himself on the edge of the sofa. He looks at Chanyeol expectantly, who is slowly making his way over, eventually sitting down on the opposite end. For a while, neither of them says anything, Chanyeol getting more and more nervous with every minute they spent in complete silence. Is what Baekhyun’s going to say so bad that he has to mentally prepare himself? If that’s the case, he should start doing that too. 

“So,” Baekhyun begins, sounding far more uncertain that he had before. “You probably have a couple of questions. I’ll try to answer each one of them as best as I can.” Chanyeol kind of expected Baekhyun to just explain everything, not prepared for a question and answer round with a murderer. It still surprised him how he has remained this calm throughout this mess. Maybe it’s because the guy’s demeanour somehow makes Chanyeol trust him, or he’s so lonely at this point that even the company of a killer is better than being alone. His thoughts are going a mile a minute, what should he ask first? Several questions swarm through his head, all of equal importance. Before he ends up giving himself a headache, he blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

“How’d you get into my apartment?” 

Baekhyun harshly scratches the back of his head, seemingly wincing at the before mentioned question. He scrapes his throat before muttering out “I fell.” Chanyeol’s eyes widen at his response.

“You fell?”

“Yes,” Baekhyun says as a matter of fact, as if that is supposed to explain everything. When he doesn’t get any further explanation, Chanyeol sighs in defeat.

“Okay, let’s try something else. Why’d you kill that guy and where is the body?” It might not be a smart move to ask that kind of question, but Chanyeol’s curiosity easily gets the better of him. Besides, he already thought of a million ways to somehow escape and actually get away this time. More than half off them are nearly impossible, but he chooses not to dwell on it for his own sake. 

“I did it to protect you. He was a demon. They evaporate when they’re killed, so don’t worry about the body.” Baekhyun sounds dead serious, Chanyeol is almost convinced that he’s telling the truth. He patiently waits for the other man to crack up and admit it’s all a joke, but that doesn’t happen. Instead a heavy silence falls between them, in which Chanyeol contemplates what to respond to Baekhyun’s ridiculous claims. 

“Let’s pretend for a second I believe you, riddle me this: why would you, a complete stranger, protect me from ‘demons’?” Chanyeol makes sure he sounds as sceptical as possible, reminding Baekhyun that he doesn’t buy into his absurd story at all. The latter huffs and folds his arms in front of his chest, as to shield himself from any rationality coming from Chanyeol. 

“You actually saw what happened and you still don’t believe me?” Baekhyun’s offended expression reminds Chanyeol of a kicked puppy. The guy’s eyes harbour a type of innocence most people loose once they reach adulthood. He shouldn’t feel bad for insulting Baekhyun when the guy is telling him nothing but nonsense, but his chest tightens involuntarily just from the flash of hurt in those deep brown eyes. Chanyeol must admit that what he saw in the living room earlier sure was strange, but it could also very well be a side effect of his extreme loneliness. Hallucinating when you haven’t seen another face beside your own in the mirror in a few days is possible, right? God, he should definitely pay more attention during his one Psychology class. Just how he’s paying attention to the current conversation he’s having with an apparent demon slayer, who still hasn’t answered his previous question. 

“I believe you.” Chanyeol tries to convince Baekhyun that he regards his words as the truth, but cringes as the sound of his own voice. He’s never been a good liar. “But you still haven’t explained to me why you’d kill a demon for me?” 

“You don’t believe me and you still won’t after I explain you why.” Baekhyun pauses to let out a heavy sigh, his expression morphing from insulted to slightly irritated. Just when Chanyeol thinks he needs to pressure the other man even further, he continues. “I did it because I’m your guardian angel.” 

What? If Chanyeol’s eyes weren’t already impossible wide they now feel just about ready to pop out of his sockets. This can’t be happening, this man can’t be serious. “You’re bloody mental,” Chanyeol declares after having somewhat calmed down. Baekhyun doesn’t take his words lightly, judging by his now aggravated expression. 

“How else would you explain everything that just happened?!” Baekhyun is full on yelling now, clearly giving up on trying to be patient with Chanyeol. 

“I don’t know, hallucinations?” He suggest, as if they’re playing some kind of guessing game.

“Hallucinations?” Baekhyun repeats, eyeing Chanyeol like he’s the only crazy person in this room. “How would you even- never mind. Just, ask me anything that only an angel observing your every move would know.” It sounds like this is his last resort, so Chanyeol decides to humour him.

“What’s the film I watched on my own last Thursday?” 

Baekhyun doesn’t even hesitate before answering “Iron Man, again.” Accompanied by an exaggerated eye roll. There might be slight chance he told one of his friends this, so maybe Baekhyun heard it from one of them somehow? Although he must give him points for remembering something that insignificant so quickly. Because Chanyeol isn’t entirely convinced yet, he asks another question. 

“What’s the last argument my former boyfriend and I had before breaking up that I didn’t tell anyone about.” 

A cute sounding giggle escapes past Baekhyun’s lips before he swiftly regains himself. “About him genuinely liking Guardians of the Galaxy better than the first Iron Man film, which upset you greatly for some reason.” Hearing this reminded Chanyeol about how ridiculous their last fight actually was, but it was more of an eruption of the steadily growing tension between them. The fact that Mark didn’t seem to agree that Iron Man is and forever will be the best Marvel film was the last straw. 

Wait, why was he fretting about this when Baekhyun just more than proved that he had been keeping track of Chanyeol 24/7. Maybe he’s some crazy hacker? He does have his phone on him at all time, so it’s possible to listen to every conversation he has through the device. It must show that he still doesn’t fully believe Baekhyun, because the latter sighs defeatedly before getting up and walking out of the living room. He returns not long after, a pretty looking white feather in the palm of his hand. It must have been the one that fell of his ‘wings’ earlier. Baekhyun stops right in front of him and carefully hands the feather over. It feels unbelievably soft against his skin. When he holds the feather up it beautifully reflects the afternoon sun rays shining through the window, something that normal feathers usually don’t do. At least, as far as he knows. Chanyeol wouldn’t exactly call himself an expert on feathers. The rainbow-like light reflection, in combination with the unmatched pearly white colour and the softness of the feather is rather unusual to say the least, he must give Baekhyun that. 

“Now do you believe me? No earthly feather even closely resembles what you currently have in your hand. Only heaven is capable of creating something like it,” Baekhyun states proudly before snatching the object out of Chanyeol’s hand. 

“I do, kind of,” Chanyeol responds hesitantly while trying his best not to freak out. Everything he perceived as truth for most of his adult life has just been disproven in the span of less than an hour. Being an atheist in not really an option anymore now that he’s in the middle of a conversation with an actual angel. This revelation just leaves him with more questions than answers. 

“Why would I, of all people, need a guardian angel? Or does everyone have one?” 

Baekhyun furiously shakes his head. “Heavens no, that would be too much of a hassle. Only people who are in any remote position of power and their close relatives have one. Your mother is a member of Parliament right? That’s why I was appointed to protect you,” he explains calmly. 

“Why not just protect only those people?” Chanyeol almost immediately follows up Baekhyun’s answer with yet another question. His temporarily panic has quickly been replaced with never-ending curiosity. 

“We learned it the hard way that people who have a close bond with those who hold the actual power, are also prone to demon attacks. When hell realised that important humans were being guarded properly, they send demons to possess their family members or close friends in a way to still manipulate them.” Baekhyun’s naturally pouty lips form a grimace while he tells about the demons, he’s obviously not a big fan. Just as Chanyeol opens his mouth to fire another question at the angel, Baekhyun’s stomach growls loudly. The latter shoots him an apologetic grin.

“Sorry, mate. I forgot that as a human you have to eat to survive.” 

“You don’t eat in heaven?” Chanyeol exclaim in disbelief. 

Baekhyun chuckles softly. “Less talking, more eating.” To further emphasize his point, he gets up from the sofa and casually strolls into the kitchen. Chanyeol immediately follows just to make sure the angel doesn’t make an absolute mess of his kitchen. This concern is quickly proven unnecessary by Baekhyun himself, who true to his word, knows precisely where everything is. The taller of the two is too emerged in watching Baekhyun shuffling around in his kitchen that he doesn’t notice a hungry Tony persistently shoving his food bowl against his leg. 

“Aww buddy, you hungry?” Baekhyun coos, grabbing the rabbit food and pouring a generous amount in Tony’s bowl. Baekhyun crouches down next to him and carefully combs his slender fingers through his fur. “You know, I always wanted to pet him, he’s so cute.” This comment is obviously directed at Chanyeol, who’s too baffled at the sight to form a proper response. It has not even been a few hours that he’s been aware of Baekhyun’s existence and it already looks like he belongs here. Chanyeol shakes his head at that absurd thought. Hunger makes him even crazier than usual. The remainder of their meal is spent in relative silence, mainly because Baekhyun keeps waving Chanyeol’s many questions away. 

A loud “Fuck,” from Baekhyun interrupts the quiet atmosphere. He’s furiously attempting to wipe a peanut butter stain out of his robes, but ends up only making it worse. Chanyeol’s eyebrows shoot up after just hearing the angel uttering a curse word. Is that even allowed? 

“Chanyeol? Could I maybe borrow some of your clothes for a little while?” Baekhyun asks in a small voice, blinking up at him. Before he can catch himself, Chanyeol’s already standing in front of his wardrobe, trying to decide which one of his hideous hoodies is good enough for the angel sitting in his living room. After spitting through his entire collection, he reluctantly hands Baekhyun one of the few appropriate outfits he has. The hoodie almost swallows him whole, slightly slumping off his smaller shoulders. His black trousers fit way better, aside from the excess fabric bunching up around Baekhyun’s ankles. It’s an adorable sight and Chanyeol has to resist the urge to take a picture. 

They resume eating their lunches after that minor hick-up, Chanyeol eagerly awaiting for Baekhyun to finish so he can question him further. Baekhyun barely swallowed his last bite before Chanyeol resumes his onslaught. A light chuckle coming from the angel is all he gets in response.

“You’re just full of questions, aren’t you?” He asks in a light tone. It doesn’t sound like he’s too bothered by Chanyeol’s over-eagerness.

“I just hope I can get to know as much as possible before you go back to guarding me again,” he shrugs. Baekhyun never mentioned when he’ll leave. Before he does, Chanyeol wants to get to know as much as possible about heaven, hell and everything associated with it.

“Chanyeol, I can’t go back.” Baekhyun’s whole expression deflates after he admits it, his glassy eyes purposely avoiding Chanyeol’s. 

“What do you mean?” 

Baekhyun lifts his too large hoodie to reveal a small wound amongst otherwise unblemished skin. “Before you walked in, the demon stabbed me with what I assume is a knife covered in some new kind of poison,” he explains, letting the fabric fall down to cover his wound. “This resulted in me losing my wings, the power to remain invisible to humans, amongst other things. Hell still hasn’t developed a way to kill us yet, but they’re apparently able to strip us of our powers. Which means I have to live on earth again until I figure out a way to return to heaven.”   
While Chanyeol was busy freaking out about what he saw, Baekhyun remained calm even though it must have been quite the shock for him too. He feels bad so he reaches over to awkwardly pet Baekhyun on his lower arm. The other nods in acknowledgement of Chanyeol’s attempt to console him. 

“So you lost everything because you were trying to protect me?” 

“That’s my job. If the only way out of a situation would be dying for your sake, I would do so without a second thought.” Somehow Baekhyun is proud of his willingness to die for someone who named their pet rabbit after their favourite superhero. 

“How can I ever repay you?” 

“Well, it would be nice to have a roof over my head until I figure everything out.” Baekhyun admits shyly, fidgeting with the hem of Chanyeol’s hoodie. 

“You want to live with me?” A nod. “Uhm, sure.” Chanyeol is certain he’s going to end up regretting this, but it’s the least he can do. The grateful smile Baekhyun directs at him already makes Chanyeol regret it less, but only slightly. Or at least, that’s what he tells himself after he just agreed to a huge proposal in seconds time, something he would usually take his sweet time thinking about.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing the pair does after officially becoming flatmates, is getting Baekhyun some clothes. It’s unclear as to how long the angel will have to remain on earth, so wearing Chanyeol’s oversized hoodies the whole time is not really an option. Baekhyun’s style seems questionable to say the least. Every article of clothing he holds up with a hopeful gleam in his eyes looks rather old-fashioned. When the angel shows him what might be the ugliest pair of trousers Chanyeol’s ever seen, he has to say something about it.

“Baekhyun, you’re kidding me with this right? I refuse to pay for that with my own money.” Looking at the amount of glitter on that thing already gives him a headache. 

“Excuse me?” Baekhyun sticks out his bottom lip in a pout. “I can’t help it that I died in ’73 and haven’t exactly been keeping up with the modern fashion trends on earth.” 

Chanyeol almost drops the pile of clothing he’s holding when he hears that shocking revelation. “Wait, what?” 

“Let’s not talk about it here.” Baekhyun subtly cocks his head towards the stern looking salesperson that has been trailing them since they’ve entered the store.

“All right, let me pay for every item except the trousers.”

That results in some much expected protest from Baekhyun, who continues to mope the entire way home. Chanyeol tries his hardest to ignore him, getting slightly annoyed that someone can be so upset about a pair of trousers. When they enter the apartment, the first thing he does is check on Tony, purposefully not paying Baekhyun any mind. This obviously doesn’t sit well with the other man, who apparently knows how Chanyeol’s telly works and turns the volume all the way up. What a dick move. He never thought that angels could be this annoying. Chanyeol marches over to Baekhyun and snatches the remote out of his hand. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” He raises his voice while furiously pressing the ‘volume down’ button. 

“You were so bent on ignoring me, so I decided to watch my new favourite show.” Baekhyun shrugs dismissively. 

“New favourite show? What’s it called then?” Chanyeol challenges Baekhyun, who looks like a deer caught in headlights. 

“People are scary and we should just stay inside for the rest of our lives.” 

Chanyeol lets out an involuntary snort at that made up title. “Not even close.” He turns off the tv and takes a seat next to Baekhyun on the sofa. “Now that there are no more intrusive salespeople eavesdropping on our conversation, can you tell me more about what happened to you?” He asks attentively. Talking about your own death might not be the easiest thing to do, so he doesn’t want to pressure Baekhyun too much. “If you want to, of course.” 

Baekhyun shrugs. “It’s fine, it happened so long ago that I don’t really mind anymore.” The ease in which he tells Chanyeol this comes off as slightly forced, but he lets it slide in favour of hearing Baekhyun’s story. “So I was killed on my way back from work. It was probably a case of me being at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Wait, so you don’t know who did it?” 

“No, I went to heaven almost immediately, you don’t get the time to linger once you die.” To Chanyeol, that doesn’t really sound ideal and judging from Baekhyun’s regretful expression, he agrees.

“That’s rough, I’m sorry to hear that,” Chanyeol responds for lack of a better thing to say. What a horrible way to come to your end, getting killed in the prime of your life without knowing the reason why. 

“Don’t apologise, what happened, happened. There is nothing I can do about it now. Besides, I did really enjoy guarding you for 7 years.” Baekhyun smiles, Chanyeol chokes on his own spit. Partially because of that smile, partially because of what the angel just said.

“Seven years? You saw everything for seven years?” Just thinking about the dumb things he did during his teenage years makes him flustered, especially now that he knows that there was somebody who witnessed all of them. While Chanyeol is inwardly cringing at his past self, Baekhyun is obviously having the time of his life.

“Yeah I saw everything. Remember when you were in the middle of confessing to Olivia when you tripped over your own feet. I almost died again; I was laughing so hard!” 

“I remember,” Chanyeol deadpans while tears spill out of Baekhyun’s eyes from laughing. 

“Also in case you’re wondering, every time you and Mark got a little frisky, I would just wait outside the bedroom door, so I didn’t see that type of stuff,” Baekhyun pipes up, as if Chanyeol needed to know that. “Or the bathroom door, or that one time outside of the loo at Nando’s,” Baekhyun adds while directing an especially cheeky grin at Chanyeol.

“Okay I get it.” 

“I still don’t get how anyone can get horny from fast food.” 

Chanyeol gets up from his seat with a speed that makes it look like he was stung by a wasp. “Let’s just go to sleep, I’m exhausted all of a sudden.” He yawns in an over-exaggerating way to emphasise his point. Baekhyun raises a sceptical eyebrow at him but goes along with it without protest. 

“Shall I take the sofa?” 

“No way, you can sleep in my bed for the time being.” Chanyeol cocks his head towards his bedroom door. 

“You sure?” Baekhyun gives the sofa a one over before looking over at Chanyeol with a puzzled expression, as if he’s trying to measure how his endless limbs are ever going to fit.

“Yeah, mate, no problem. Good night,” Chanyeol says in an attempt to end the conversation. Baekhyun takes the hint and leaves him alone in the living room. The apartment finally returns to the quietness that Chanyeol has gotten used to over the years, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Never did he think that he would appreciate the silence, but Baekhyun and his endless chatter can be a bit overwhelming. Don’t get him wrong, he appreciates what the angel has done for him, but the guy knows too much which gets on his nerves. Tomorrow after he returns from university, he’ll do everything in he can to help Baekhyun get back his powers. All he has to do now is close his eyes and wait for Sandman to guide him to dreamland. Chanyeol twists and turns, trying to make himself comfortable on the sofa, but nothing happens. Seems like Sandman is taking his sweet time, something he absolutely doesn’t need when he has a class at nine in the morning. When the first sunrays creep through the window, Chanyeol is still wide awake, now mindlessly scrolling through Instagram on his phone. It’s barely seven in the morning when he decides he’s had enough, sleep isn’t coming anytime soon so why not get up a little earlier. 

The door to his bedroom opens slightly followed by a tired looking Baekhyun shuffling through. The bags under his eyes look as bad as Chanyeol imagines his to be. “Couldn’t sleep?” All he gets is a grunt in return. “Me neither,” Chanyeol says to no one in particular, now that Baekhyun has made his way over to the kitchen and is making himself breakfast. Conversation doesn’t start up during breakfast either. The usual silence fills the air, except for the occasional sound coming from Chanyeol’s phone. 

“Could you explain me how your shower works?” Baekhyun asks in between chewing his toast. Several crumbs fly everywhere every time he opens his mouth, a sight not very welcoming so early in the morning. Or any other time for that matter. After giving Baekhyun a quick explanation Chanyeol returns to the living room to watch the news, something he does when has to leave for school early. The newscaster is in the middle of an important story when Baekhyun interrupts by singing an old Beatles song at the top of his lungs. Under normal circumstances Chanyeol would marvel at the beauty of his voice, but it’s 7 in the morning and he’s trying to pay attention. So to say that he doesn’t appreciate hearing this cover is an understatement. This is the last straw, Baekhyun needs to be out of his home as soon as possible. At first he thought the former angel could fill up the emptiness in the apartment quite well. In some areas he does, but that doesn’t weigh up against the pure frustration Chanyeol feels just from having to deal with the guy. Eventually he gives up trying to hear anything the newscaster has to say and shuts off the telly. 

Baekhyun re-enters the living room with a smug aura surrounding him, as if he was bothering Chanyeol on purpose. He continues humming a tune that the taller man for the life of him doesn’t recognise, probably because he wasn’t born half a century ago. “Try to keep it down next time you shower while I’m still in the living room,” Chanyeol says in an overly-polite manner, like he’s a guest in his own apartment. 

“I’ll try,” Baekhyun responds casually while drying his fluffy hair with a towel. There is a trail of water droplets from the bathroom all the way to where Baekhyun is currently standing. Chanyeol groans inwardly at having to clean that whole mess up before leaving. Deciding that he’s had enough of this, he gets up to take a shower himself. The water does little to wash away his frustration, but it wakes him up enough to be able to handle a few hours of lectures. He stays in the bathroom as long as possible, avoiding having any further interaction with Baekhyun before leaving. When he steps out Baekhyun has popped in one of his precious Marvel DVD’s without asking. Why must the guy know how everything works, it makes this whole ordeal even harder. Although touching any of his collector’s stuff is a big violation of the rules Chanyeol made up in his head, he decides against yelling about it. He’s leaving for class in a few minutes and even though he barely knows Baekhyun, Chanyeol doesn’t put it past the guy for just doing whatever he wants anyway when he’s off to university. 

“I see that you made yourself comfortable. I’m off to school, I’ll be back around noon. You know where everything is, so please stay inside until I’m back, yeah?” 

Baekhyun turns his head so that he can look over to Chanyeol hovering by the door. “Wait, can’t I go with you like usual?” With his big, innocent eyes and questioning gaze, Baekhyun perfectly resembles a puppy that doesn’t know why it’s owner is leaving him.

“Now that you’re visible? Absolutely not.” How would Chanyeol even justify bringing a complete stranger into his classes? Baekhyun must know that’s absolutely not an option. 

Baekhyun purses his lips before directing his attention back to the film. “You’re no fun.” 

“It’s just a couple of hours, I’ll be back before you know it.” It sounds like Chanyeol is consoling a young child, which is ridiculous because Baekhyun’s looks around his age. He shuts the door before he has to hear anything else from the apparent toddler he’s now sharing his home with. 

School does little to stop his thoughts from constantly drifting back to the former angel in his apartment. Chanyeol is positive that can’t recall a single word that left his professor’s mouth during the lecture. Studying law is not something that he’s particularly passionate about, but he’s got to do something. His real passion, making music, is not a field where a stable job is easily guaranteed. Law was not that bad of a backup, at least he could still try to make a living prosecuting criminals. Some of his classmates make a comment about him being mentally absent, but when he doesn’t respond, none of them push it any further. Instead of lingering around when class is over like he usually does, Chanyeol heads home immediately. 

His apartment looks perfectly fine at first glance. Baekhyun is napping on the sofa with the tv softly playing in the background. There is not a single piece of furniture out of place, except for the crumb filled plate on the coffee table. When he’s not being unreasonable or childish, Baekhyun actually looks beautiful. It’s not like he hadn’t noticed before, only now he has the time to properly take in Baekhyun’s delicate features. Chanyeol catches himself staring and drags his eyes away from the peacefully sleeping man. With the full intent of actually doing something for school today, he dumps the pile of homework he received on the kitchen table. Yesterday was so hectic he hadn’t even spared his education a single thought, now he has to make up for that by doing extra work. What he absolutely doesn’t need right now is Jongdae screaming outside his door, but that’s exactly what’s happening at this moment. His booming voice startles Baekhyun, who sits up fully awake. 

How the fuck is he going to explain to Jongdae that he has a random guy living in his home? He wouldn’t hear the end of it, especially since his friends have been pressuring to go out more and get a new relationship. “It’s better than moping around in your apartment alone,” is what Jongdae has told him on multiple occasions. Meanwhile the screaming hasn’t stopped, two other voices even join in, pressuring him into opening his door. So it’s not just Jongdae, Sehun and Kyungsoo accompanied him here. They usually text him before invading his home and eating all his food, it must be an emergency if they show up out of nowhere. Baekhyun is obviously very confused by everything that’s happening, but it looks like he recognises the voices. 

“Those are your friends right, why not just open the door?” He asks with one eyebrow raised. Chanyeol widens his eyes and puts a finger to his lips. 

“Listen,” he whispers, “You absolutely, under no circumstance, can tell them how you got here. As soon as I open the door, you can briefly introduce yourself. After that you should tell them you’re tired and go to my bedroom.” Chanyeol continues in panicked whispers. 

A shrug is the only thing he gets in response from Baekhyun. Deciding that’s enough of a confirmation, Chanyeol moves towards his front door before his friend’s screaming (Jongdae’s especially) drives him insane. He almost yanks the door out of its sockets with the sheer amount of force that he uses. 

“What in the bloody hell is going on? Do you want me to get evicted?” Chanyeol says accusingly to the trio standing in the hallway. Jongdae doesn’t even wait before he’s properly invited in before pushing past Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and Sehun closely following his example. They come to a sudden halt in the middle of the living room when they spot Baekhyun. What follows is the most awkward staring contest between the four of them, with Baekhyun breaking the tension in the end by uttering a small “Hello.”

“Who’s this?” Jongdae points at Baekhyun like he just saw the latter break into the apartment. 

Baekhyun scoffs at the treatment he’s receiving from Chanyeol’s friend before introducing himself. “I’m Baekhyun, a friend of Chanyeol’s. I’m staying here for a while.” Before he’s bombarded with questions, he follows his introductions up with “Super great to meet you, but I’m really tired. So bye.” And with that he exists the room without sparing Chanyeol’s friends another glance. They all look at Chanyeol with questioning eyes, Jongdae in particular looks like he has just seen a ghost. 

“So you have a boyfriend?” Sehun asks nonchalantly. Normally, Chanyeol would deny those kind of allegations right away, but he’s still so baffled with that grand exit Baekhyun just pulled, that he question flies past him completely. Being someone with limited patience, Sehun starts obnoxiously waving his hands in front of Chanyeol’s face. “Earth to Chanyeol. Are you thinking about the last dicking you gave him?” 

“Or he gave you,” Kyungsoo adds casually. 

Chanyeol rolls his eyes, but feels a slight blush coating his cheeks at the ridiculous accusations. “Oh bugger off, he’s just a friend, are you deaf? Why don’t you tell me the reason why the Litty Titty Lads are all gathered here today?” 

Kyungsoo sighs heavily before planting himself on the sofa, with Sehun following soon after, lazily draping an arm around the smaller man’s shoulders. “For the last time, Chanyeol, we’re not going to call our squad that ridiculous name,” he deadpans with a passive expression while slightly leaning into Sehun’s side. “I prefer Sehun’s suggestion.” 

Why oh why would that be? Chanyeol might be oblivious to a lot of things surrounding romance, but even he can see that the way Kyungsoo looks at their youngest friend isn’t the most platonic gaze in the world. Even so, Sehun’s suggestion is not much better than his. “His suggestion was literally calling ourselves the ‘As straight as Chanyeol’s legs’-squad.” 

“So? It’s better than your idea at least.” 

“Sorry, Soo. I can’t hear you because you’re so far up Sehun’s arse!” 

“Lads!” Jongdae’s booming voice interrupts their ongoing banter. “Can we please talk about the actual issue?” 

Right, the reason why they were screaming to be let in Chanyeol’s apartment not to long ago has been drowned out by their banter. “Which is?” 

“Jongdae doesn’t know how to flirt with men,” Sehun blurts out before both he and Kyungsoo double over from laughter. They make it look like it’s a joke, but judging from Jongdae’s flushed face that’s definitely not the case. 

“Shut yer mouths!” Jongdae sounds frustrated, which results in his Scottish accent sounding even thicker than usual. “Yer all a bunch of knobheads.” Both Sehun and Kyungsoo look taken back by Jongdae’s playground insults, but do leave room for Jongdae to explain his ‘emergency’. 

“So there is this bloke in my English class that I want to get to know better, if ya know what I’m saying. His name is Minseok and he’s like the perfect mix between cute and daddy, I-” 

“I get it, don’t make me kink shame you again, mate,” Chanyeol interrupts. Jongdae isn’t one to shy away from sexually explicit comments and Chanyeol doesn’t want hear any of his unfiltered thoughts ever again. To his right he can hear Sehun and Kyungsoo snickering at his comment. Why they are even here has yet to be made clear. Maybe they just enjoy watching Jongdae making a mess of his love life. The guy can be quite straightforward, which has scared off a number of possible candidates, all of which were female. Out of their friends group, Chanyeol is the only one who’s had a proper relationship with another man. Sehun is more of a one nightstand kind of guy, while Kyungsoo’s love life is a complete mystery to all of them. That’s probably the main reason why Jongdae came to him for advice, not like Chanyeol is anything close to a Casanova. 

“Just explain to me if flirting with men is different than with women.” Jongdae lets himself ungraciously fall on the sofa before redirecting his attention to Chanyeol. With three pairs of eyes on him, he starts to squirm under the unwanted attention. 

“I don’t know.” 

Jongdae gapes at him. “You don’t know? You’ve had a girlfriend and are on your second boyfriend,” he exclaims. 

“I didn’t really flirt with them, it just sort of… happened. Just try to talk to him about what he likes and suggest to do that together. And for the last time, Baekhyun and I are not in a relationship!” 

The creaking of Chanyeol’s bedroom door causes everyone to direct their attention to Baekhyun, who’s head is poking out of the opening. “What about me?” 

Kyungsoo cocks an eyebrow. “Weren’t you tired?” 

“Well, I can’t sleep if you lot keep yelling,” comes the quick response. He’s completely right, they weren’t exactly being quiet. It must be boring for Baekhyun to just stay in the bedroom with the only source of entertainment being the shouts coming from the living room. There is no telly in his room and Baekhyun doesn’t understand how the internet works. 

“Right, the guys were taking their leave anyway.” 

“Why? We’ve been here for barely ten minutes. And ya only gave me really shitty, vague advice,” Jongdae whines. All of them get off the sofa reluctantly after Chanyeol starts shooting them impatient glares. Sehun mutters something along the lines of “can’t believe we’re being sexiled out of another apartment,” which results in snickering from the other two. 

“Sehun I swear to fuck, you’re officially uninvited to tomorrow’s official Litty Titty Lads rendezvous,” Chanyeol huffs before throwing the door shut. He spins around to throw Baekhyun an apologetic look, who doesn’t seem that bothered. 

“I’ve known your friends for a while now, I’m used to it.” 

“Right.” It’s easy to forget that Baekhyun witnessed almost everything that happened to him for the last seven years. “Now that they’re out of the way, let’s talk about you getting back to heaven. Any idea how?” If there is a way Chanyeol can help, he will to a certain extent. Just to get Baekhyun out of his hair.

“No clue.” Baekhyun shrugs, apparently not sharing Chanyeol’s concern about the whole situation. All hope he had in having the apartment all to his lonely self again has been squashed by just two words. This can’t be. There is no way in hell that he’s going to kick Baekhyun out, where would the guy even go? He’d probably starve to death. Chanyeol might not particularly enjoy his company, but he’s not heartless. 

“So, what now?” 

Baekhyun says nothing for a while, the fine lines between his eyebrows indicating that he’s thinking of something. “I think I got it,” he pipes up after a while. “Every year I bring out a report about you, like all guardian angels do. When they notice that I’m not there, they’ll certainly come looking for me,” Baekhyun assures Chanyeol.

“What’s the last time you brought out a report?” 

Baekhyun visibly shrinks before muttering “Two months ago,” in a tiny voice. Ten months? He has to deal with an unwanted roommate for another ten whole months? It goes without question that he owes Baekhyun big time, the bloke would actually lay down his life to protect him. He has proven himself to be a noble man. That being said, Chanyeol doesn’t know if he can handle someone continuously invading the space he created for himself for almost a year, especially when said person gets on his nerves more often than not. Helping Baekhyun find a place for himself will be expensive and extremely time consuming, so that’s definitely out of the question. That leaves the former angel to live with him until he’s able to return. The realisation weighs incredibly heavy on Chanyeol’s shoulders, who slump down even further than usual. Baekhyun must spot the pure panic in his eyes before gently pushing him towards the sofa. “Do you need to lie down?” It should not affect Chanyeol how concerned the other man sounds, but it very well does. He tries to regain himself as quickly as possible in order to uphold the illusion that he doesn’t mind rooming with Baekhyun. 

“No it’s fine,” Chanyeol squeaks, sounding two octaves higher than usual. He’s always been a bad liar and there is a fat chance that Baekhyun knows this. “Wanna watch Captain America: Civil War together?” Chanyeol asks out of nowhere, desperate to change the subject before he has an actual mental breakdown. 

“Haven’t you watched that film more than 20 times already?” 

“It’s a good film. Do you want to join me, or not?” He should really be working on school, but their previous conversation is going to plague his thoughts for a while. Not the best mindset to be in while doing your homework. That might be the worst excuse he used to date, but Baekhyun is already popping in the DVD, so it would be rude to change his mind. Contrary to what Chanyeol initially thought was going to happen (Baekhyun mindlessly chitchatting during every single scene), the former angel remains pretty silent throughout the film’s runtime, except for cracking a few spot on jokes that have Chanyeol cackling. Being the stubborn man that he is, he firmly decides that one good viewing experience is not going to change his opinion on Baekhyun. He does however, not dread the whole flatmate situation as much, but only by the tiniest amount. 

Time flies when you’re emerged in a film you pretty much know by head now. The sun is already setting, painting the sky pink and orange instead of the usual bright blue. It’s a sight that still manages to steal Chanyeol’s breath away after having witnessed it more times than he can count. The colours change from evening to evening, something that makes the sight of the setting sun so unique. Times like these are when he realises that he’s grateful to be alive, so he can witness the beauty that it offers. A content sigh coming from his left pulls his thoughts back to his apartment. 

“You wear the biggest smile when you’re watching the setting sun. It’s something you’ve been doing for years,” Baekhyun says with a soft smile on his face, a smile solely directed at him. The beauty of which can not be compared to the colour palette outside of his window, but it makes a warm feeling bloom in his chest nonetheless. The credits of Civil War are still playing in the background, but neither of them is paying it any mind. Chanyeol doesn’t know how to respond to something like that, but gives Baekhyun a smile in return. One that has been the most genuine in a while, which makes his eyes narrow to slits. It has also been the first time that Baekhyun mentioned something from his past that hasn’t been completely embarrassing, Chanyeol notes. When the sun has completely disappeared behind the horizon, the pair makes their way over to their respective beds. Hopefully the night will be kinder to him this time around.


	3. Chapter 3

“Chanyeol,” a distressed whisper close to him wakes Chanyeol from his restless slumber. This night he did manage to fall asleep, but leave it up to Baekhyun to ruin it. Something in his voice tells him the guy is not waking him up just to pester him.

“What is it?” Chanyeol rubs the sleep out of his eyes and squints them to make out Baekhyun in the dark. The other doesn’t immediately respond but shuffles around the room to turn on the light. He looks even worse for wear than the previous morning, heavy eyebags indicating that he didn’t manage to get a minute of sleep. 

“I can’t sleep if I don’t know you’re safe. I’m so used to guarding you every moment of the day. Please just share you bed with me.” Baekhyun pleads while playing with the hem of his pyjama, a nervous habit it seems. When Chanyeol doesn’t answer, the other continues rambling. “It would be a win win, you know? You don’t have a crick in your neck from sleeping on the uncomfortable sofa, I don’t get sleep deprived. I won’t do anything weird, I promise, I just want to get some shut eye. There-”

“It’s fine, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol interrupts, agreeing with Baekhyun’s request just to shut him up so he can continue to sleep. “I just need to grab my pillow.” 

Settling down in his own bed is such a relief after lying on the sofa for two days. The presence of another body next to him doesn’t bother him in the slightest. It’s actually comforting in some way, the human warmth he missed so much over the years. Soon after his back hits the mattress, Chanyeol dozes off.   
He wakes up well rested, with an incredible cocoon of warmth surrounding him. There is an arm draped around his chest, Baekhyun moved a lot closer in his sleep. It’s probably and unconscious attempt to protect Chanyeol, old habits die hard. He doesn’t really mind the contact, finding it somehow pleasant rather than a bother. Chanyeol finds that he has to force himself to get up more than usual, something other than the comfort of the mattress keeping him glued to the bed. There is no time to ponder about the magic pull when he has class in less than an hour. 

Showering, dressing and eating breakfast in a hurry has never been pleasant, but it has to be done in order to be on time. By the time he leaves for class, there is still no sound coming from his bedroom. Assuming that Baekhyun is still asleep, Chanyeol writes a quick note telling him that he’ll back around noon. He also makes a mental note that grocery shopping is long overdue, especially now that he has to prepare food for two. He could possibly entrust Baekhyun with the task, assuming that the guy also followed him around the supermarket. 

School is not much different than the previous day, only now he can properly concentrate with the knowledge that Baekhyun didn’t make a complete mess of his apartment yesterday. One of his classmates actually compliments him on looking more well-rested and relaxed than ever. That might not be entirely true, but he feels definitely less on edge than yesterday. He even chats for a short while with his fellow classmates before heading home.   
A delicious smell hits his nose before he even opens the door. Baekhyun has obviously been treating himself, not that Chanyeol minds. There were no clear rules put in place what the former angel can and cannot cook. When he notices the completely set table and basket full of scones it becomes clear that the treats aren’t only intended for Baekhyun himself.

Said man emerges from the kitchen with bits of flower in his raven black hair, the wide smile on his face making him look younger than he actually is. Chanyeol doesn’t offer one in return, but cocks his head towards the table.   
“I decided to make us some lunch because I was bored. I noticed that you didn’t pack anything for school, so go ahead!” Baekhyun points to the table enthusiastically before taking a seat. It looks like he also pressed fresh orange juice, something Chanyeol’s mother used to do when he was younger. 

“So how was your day?” Baekhyun ask after swallowing a big chunk of scone. A tiny voice in the back of Chanyeol’s head kindly points out how domestic this must look, but he pointedly ignores it. They’re just eating the lunch that Baekhyun prepared, nothing special about that, Chanyeol reminds himself.

“Nothing really particular happened, but we did learn the ins and outs of a really interesting case.” And with that, Chanyeol launches himself in a passionate retelling of the case. Baekhyun is an attentive listener, only asking questions when he doesn’t understand something and occasionally humming in agreement. Conversing with Baekhyun is surprisingly enjoyable. They are on the same wavelength on a lot of things, which makes the chatter between them flow rather easy. Chanyeol would return the favour of asking the question, but it’s fairly obvious that Baekhyun didn’t do anything other than cook and watch telly. They’re still talking long after their food is done. 

Chanyeol’s conscious is reminding him that he didn’t work out or do anything for school in a couple of days. He entrust Baekhyun with the task of doing groceries while he goes to the gym. Rather than mope about it, Baekhyun seems happy to go outside and actually do something for once. It’s such a relief to divide the chores amongst two people, it saves him a lot of time. Chanyeol could actually make good use of Baekhyun’s willingness to do the groceries during the ten months he will be staying in his apartment. 

There are several shopping bags on the table once Chanyeol comes back from the gym. True to his word, Baekhyun bought everything that was on the shopping list and more. There are some fruits in his rather unused fruit basket that he doesn’t even recognise. Baekhyun is on the sofa watching another Marvel film. At this rate, he will finish all of them in less than a week. At the sound of the front door opening, he pauses the DVD and looks over to Chanyeol. Currently, the taller is drenched in sweat from his intense work-out routine. Not his best look judging from Baekhyun’s reaction, who immediately moves back around and resumes watching what looks like Ant Man. 

“I’m gonna hop in the shower and do some schoolwork after,” Chanyeol announces. Why is he even explaining himself to Baekhyun? Rather than waiting for a reply, Chanyeol speed walks over to the bathroom for a quick shower. Not long after, he finds himself in the kitchen surrounded by the piling up assignments he neglected over the last couple of days. There is limited time to finish them, because Sehun, Kyungsoo and Jongdae will be visiting again tonight and he still needs to prepare dinner. It’s a tradition that seeped in slowly over time. In order to remain in contact, they meet up every Friday evening at Chanyeol’s apartment. This meet up usually consist of the four of them getting drunk and watching dumb films. Last time Twilight was chosen, which caused Chanyeol to shed more tears than he would like to admit. He blames it on the alcohol, there is no way he would ever cry over that film while sober. 

Somehow, he manages to finish most of his work before dinner time. When his stomach starts to grumble, he decides to put off the rest until Saturday. Chanyeol is about to start chopping vegetables when Baekhyun beats him to the punch and shoos him out of the kitchen. Without much protest, Chanyeol leaves and entertains himself while Baekhyun prepares dinner. Tony also gets a full bowl when the pair sits down to eat their meals. The food is nothing short of delicious, Chanyeol’s hums and moans of appreciation increase in volume the more he eats, while Baekhyun looks redder and redder as dinner goes on. 

“You hot or something?” Chanyeol asks a now full on tomato looking Baekhyun. The other furiously shakes his head before excusing himself, half eaten meal now lying abandoned on his plate. Hopefully he’s not getting ill, Chanyeol for the life of him doesn’t know how to take care of someone who is sick. Also, a sick and whiney Baekhyun is something Chanyeol absolutely doesn’t want to deal with. The “Fine,” he gets in response to him shouting to Baekhyun if he’s okay, is enough for Chanyeol to conclude that he’s just acting weird. He leaves it at that and starts cleaning up the kitchen as best as he can before his friends arrive.

Jongdae’s not so subtle voice warns Chanyeol of their presence long before they even knock on the door. It’s not quite clear what the trio is arguing about, but it’s a heated discussion if he’s ever heard one. They barely acknowledge Chanyeol when they enter, not even bothering to stop the bickering between them. When he hears the familiar name ‘Minseok’ being dropped, he can easily guess what the topic of discussion is. 

“So what do ya think, Chanyeol?” Jongdae looks at him expectedly, impatiently tapping his foot in anticipation of an answer.

“How can I form an opinion when I didn’t even catch 90% of your discussion.” Jongdae rolls his eyes, as if it’s just expected from Chanyeol that he knows everything. 

“Alright, so I followed yer advice, right? And somehow it kind of worked. I talked some to Minseok and the bloke apparently likes coffee and working out. I can’t wait to see what’s under those clothes. He must have the most amazing, delicious abs, I just wanna-”

“Jongdae.” 

“Right, yes, the discussion. So after I heard he liked coffee, I asked him to accompany me to the newly opened café, ya know, the one with unicorn coffee and all that other bullshite. Then he said to me that he’s glad I invited him, ‘cause none of his other friends want to go.” Chanyeol waits for a few seconds, but there is no more explanation coming from Jongdae. The guy really sucks at telling coherent stories. Kyungsoo picks up on his confusion and makes an attempt to fill in the gaps.

“Jongdae, mate, you completely failed to mention what our discussion was about. Anyways, he’s really hung up on the fact that Minseok said other friends, which makes Jongdae think that he has no chance at all. Sehun and I are trying to convince him that he’s overreacting and he can always show Minseok that he has more than platonic feelings for him.” 

“How?” 

“Like pay for the date or something, it’s not that different from dating women,” Chanyeol tries to reassure his clearly stressed out friend. In the middle of their conversation, Baekhyun re-emerged from the bathroom, wearing his pyjama bottoms and one of Chanyeol’s oversized hoodies. Jongdae asks another question in the background which causes the discussion to start back up again, but all Chanyeol can focus on is Baekhyun wearing his clothes when he has plenty of his own. Is this another attempt to pester him without it being too obvious? 

“Oi, Baekhyun, right? Wanna join us for our film night?” A mantra of ‘please say no’ goes through Chanyeol’s head, hoping that it somehow reaches Baekhyun through his desperate expression alone. 

“Sure, if that’s okay with you?” Baekhyun asks him directly, exploiting his puppy eyes to the max.

“Yeah,” It takes Chanyeol a lot of effort to not sound like he would rather die, but he pulls it off rather nicely judging from the lack of a reaction from the other guys. “I’m gonna to grab the alcohol.” He’ll need a lot of it to get through this evening. When he comes back with several bottles of Guinness in his hand, the lads are snugly seated on his sofa. Baekhyun is talking animatedly to Jongdae, who laughs loudly at something the other said. Chanyeol has not seen the former angel behave like this yet. When Baekhyun talks to him, it’s much more sedated, like he inhibits himself. Why would he do so when Chanyeol himself is not the most quiet nor subtle person on this earth? It’s likely one of Baekhyun’s quirks that he’ll just have to deal with. Somehow it stings that the angel can’t be his true self with him, something that Chanyeol should not care about at all. Yet he does and he can’t seem to tear his eyes away. 

“Chanyeol, if Baekhyun is not your boyfriend, then why is he wearing your hideous ‘sexual fantasies’ hoodie?” Kyungsoo whispers to him, subtly cocking his head towards Baekhyun, who’s still deeply wrapped up in a conversation with Jongdae. Chanyeol graciously chokes on the beer he was drinking. Stupid Baekhyun who borrows clothes without asking. After he is done coughing his lungs out he throws Kyungsoo an annoyed look.

“Did I speak Russian last time I explained this? He’s not my boyfriend. He just borrows my stuff to annoy me,” Chanyeol whispers back, feeling the irritation creep back up again. 

Kyungsoo huffs. “Doesn’t sound like friendship to me.” 

“You lot annoy me all the time and I still let you into my apartment. Same difference.” Now that he’s said it, it indeed sounds like his relationship with Baekhyun is not a far cry from the one with his friends. Only the way Baekhyun gets under his skin is a world of difference from the playful pestering between them, but Kyungsoo doesn’t need to know that. To take the edge off and actually enjoy his night, Chanyeol consumes more alcohol than he typically would. Before he knows it, there is a pleasant buzz flowing through his body. He doesn’t even remember what film they’re watching this time around, but what he does know is that it’s absolutely hilarious. Next to him, Sehun and Kyungsoo are not much better off. Sehun leans a bit too heavily on Kyungsoo, causing the both of them to topple over and burst into a fit of giggles. 

No longer content with watching his dumb friends attempt to get up from the floor, Chanyeol decides to eavesdrop on the conversation Baekhyun and Jongdae are having. He’s just in time to catch Jongdae casually asking the other why he’s actually living with Chanyeol. Even now that he’s drunk, alarm bells go off in his head. They never even discussed a proper fake background story for Baekhyun, who’s now looking at him with a hint of panic in those brown orbs. Chanyeol resist the urge to scowl at him, it’s not like he knows what to do either. He mouths ‘Just say anything’ in the hope that Baekhyun is bright enough to make up something believable.

Jongdae must be pretty buzzed too, he’s not at all bothered with the abnormally long silence, something he would easily pick up on while sober. Baekhyun eventually makes up some bullshite about getting kicked out by his former boyfriend, an answer that satisfies Jongdae enough to not press it any further. Chanyeol didn’t realise that he was holding his breath throughout the whole thing until his lungs start complaining about the lack of oxygen. As a sign of gratitude for not embarrassing him any further, he gives Baekhyun a lazy thumbs up. The smile he gets in returns is labelled as ‘cute’ in his drunken mind, something he likely won’t agree on in the morning, or so he tells himself. 

The rest of the evening is a lot less stressful to his relief. Baekhyun sticks to Jongdae, the two of them are now the best of friends after knowing each other for just a couple of hours. Which is totally fine, Jongdae has always been a people person, so befriending Baekhyun in such a short period of time is nothing special. Sehun is soundly asleep, his head on Kyungsoo’s lap, who gently combs his hands through his locks. 

“You’re so whipped.” 

“Shut up,” Kyungsoo bites back while not taking his eyes off their youngest friend. He didn’t even deny it this time, that’s progress. The pair needs to be pushed over the edge, Chanyeol should try to play match maker once he’s sober. He is in fact so far gone, that he didn’t even notice the silence that has fallen between them. Seems like the initial buzz faded over into drowsiness, the tv is the only thing still making noise now that conversation has died down. Jongdae, Kyungsoo and Sehun eventually stumble out of the door, the promise to never drink alcohol leaving their lips more as a tradition than anything else. Especially since they all know that it will only last a week before it happens all over again. 

Baekhyun is half a asleep in what looks like an especially uncomfortable position. His eyelids occasionally flutter open in an attempt to stay awake. Chanyeol nudges him softly. “Come on Baekhyun, if you fall asleep in this position you’re going to regret it in the morning and complain to me about it. That’s not something I want to deal with when I’m already hangover.” 

Baekhyun pouts before making grabby hands at him, again reminding Chanyeol of a toddler more than anything else. “Carry me,” Baekhyun whines. This guy is getting more ridiculous by the day. Chanyeol drank far more than he did and he’s still making that outrageous request. There is more protest in his head that dies down once he realises that he already has his arms wrapped around Baekhyun’s small frame, picking him up with ease. There is a slight tickle against his neck, Baekhyun is fucking nuzzling him, what’s up with that? Chanyeol has to supress an unmanly giggle, he has always been sensitive to tickling. 

“You smell nice,” Baekhyun murmurs against his neck, his lips lightly grazing Chanyeol’s skin every time they form another word. He lets out an involuntary shudder at the contact. God, he really needs to get laid if this already gets him riled up. Does he really smell that good though? Chanyeol moves his head so he can sniff his own shoulder. Nothing special, maybe Baekhyun just likes the body wash he uses? That must mean Baekhyun smells the same, because they both use the same products. At least, Chanyeol hadn’t seen the other buy anything besides his own toothbrush. To test out his theory, he takes a good, long inhale. There are indeed traces of the familiar products in Baekhyun’s scent, but it’s mixed with something else entirely. It’s not his aftershave, otherwise he would have recognised it. Whatever it is, it smells amazing. 

Wait, why is he sniffing Baekhyun? He always gets so weird when he’s had too much to drink. This will definitely be the last time he consumes this much alcohol. It takes him a whole minute to cross the distance between his sofa and his bed, while also bumping into the coffee table and almost tripping over the carpet. He carefully lays down Baekhyun on the mattress, who starts snoring softly. 

“Baekhyun. Oi, Baekhyun!” No reply, the snoring just continues. There is no way Chanyeol is going to let Baekhyun sleep in his bed wearing dirty socks. With a sour expression on his face, he peels them off and throws them on the floor. He pulls half of the blanket over Baekhyun before he wills himself to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

A pounding head is the first thing that greets Chanyeol in the morning, followed right up by an upset tummy. Once he’s finished emptying out the contents of his stomach, a painkiller seems like a wise next step. Baekhyun is already sitting at the kitchen table when he enters, looking a lot chirpier than he should. He slides a glass of orange juice towards Chanyeol’s direction.

“Want some?” 

“No, I’ll take an aspirin instead.” 

“You look like shite,” Baekhyun tells him as if he didn’t know it himself. His hair must resemble a bird nest more than anything. Top that off with sickly pale skin and extremely chapped lips. Probably doesn’t make for a pretty picture indeed. 

“Thanks,” Chanyeol grumbles before taking off towards the bathroom. Work starts in a couple of hours, he might feel and look a lot less awful after a nice, long bath. Chanyeol pours in a generous amount of the lavender scented bath soap. He gradually lowers his body into the hot water and allows himself to close his eyes. There is knock on the bathroom door, startling him out of his half asleep state. 

“Chanyeol, are you okay? You need anything? I mean you did look kind of ill.” The concern in Baekhyun’s voice is easily detectably even through the door. “Want me to make you soup or something? I can try to recreate the one your nan always made back when you where still a wee little lad.” That certainly piques his interest. His mother made him the same chicken soup whenever he would fall ill. It didn’t always make him better, but it never failed to cheer him up, even when he was bedridden. 

“You know how to make her chicken soup?” 

“Kind of, I mean I can try?” Chanyeol can’t stop the huge smile that breaks out on his face. His mouth is already watering in anticipation. This action might be Baekhyun’s way to apologise for insulting him earlier, not that he really minded it. He admittedly did look rather awful. But who is he to refuse such an amazing offer?

“Sure, go on ahead. I’ll be out in a couple of minutes.” When he enters the kitchen for a second time today, there is a bowl of steaming chicken soup on the table, accompanied by a widely smiling Baekhyun. When Chanyeol swallows the first spoonful, the other man looks at him in hopeful anticipation. Although it’s not an exact carbon copy, Baekhyun added his own twist to it, which makes it delicious in a whole different way. 

“I think I should get sick a more often if this is what I get in return,” Chanyeol admits before practically inhaling the remainder of his soup. Baekhyun looks taken back at first before his expression turns cocky.

“You shouldn’t expect anything else from a master chef like me,” he exclaims while puffing out his chest in an over exaggerating manner. If giving Baekhyun compliements results in this type of behaviour, he might reconsider it next time. 

“Anyways, I’m off to work in a bit,” Having had enough of Baekhyun’s gloating, Chanyeol tries to steer their conversation in another direction. “You don’t have to wait up with dinner, I’ll be back around half past eleven. I’ll leave you some money so you can go out if you want to, you know, in case you get bored. I have a subscription at the local library, you still remember where the building is?” 

“Yeah, I remember.” 

“I can leave you my card so you can borrow all kinds of books. Get into today’s literature.” If it were Chanyeol who was holed up in a tiny apartment most of the day, he would go insane after a week. He can only imagine how boring it must be to not do anything beside watch telly and cook. The guy might be a bit annoying on occasions, but Chanyeol can see that Baekhyun’s making an effort to be considerate with him, which he greatly appreciates. This is the least he can do in return. Rewarding good behaviour leads to more good behaviour if he recalls correctly. 

“That’s a good idea, any recommendations?” 

“Of course, Harry Potter is a good starting point.” There are so many other things beside books that Baekhyun missed out on, that they end up with an entire list of things the former angel needs to discover. From his favourite literary pieces to Netflix original documentaries. Chanyeol would recommend a couple of outstanding games, only Baekhyun doesn’t understand the controls of his PlayStation. If they’re going to be living with each other for the next ten months, there will be plenty of time for explanations. 

“Looks like I’m not going to be bored while you’re at work.” Baekhyun jokes while taking in the sheer length of the list. What a relief, Chanyeol can go to work knowing that Baekhyun is able to spent his time whichever way he wants. He hums an upbeat tune while he makes his way over to the restaurant, his father even makes a comment about his exceptionally good mood. Some kid accidently spills cola on his shirt, he trips and shatters several plates and an old woman keeps flirting with him in a way that’s borderline creepy. It might not have been the best day he's had at work, yet he kept smiling through it all.

The before mentioned woman even leaves her number behind, somehow convinced that her advances worked. Chanyeol finds himself pocketing the note, so he can show it to Baekhyun later and they can have a proper laugh about it. Their kitchen closes at 10, as always a few customers linger for a little while. When the last group leaves a few minutes before they officially close, Chanyeol starts cleaning the tables until the door opens again. It’s already closing time, so he gets up to notify whoever came in. The person facing him is none other than a cheekily smiling Baekhyun wrapped up in a thick scarf. 

“Chanyeol, tell the customer we’re closed, yeah?” His father shouts from the kitchen.

Baekhyun shoots him an apologetic look before he starts to retreat. “No wait, it’s fine,” Chanyeol assures the other while lightly grabbing his lower arm. “It’s just my friend, dad,” He shouts back to his father.

“Well in that case,” His father bursts out of the kitchen wearing a wide smile and makes a beeline towards Baekhyun. “Hello Chanyeol’s friend, never seen you before.” He grabs Baekhyun’s hand and gives it a firm shake.

“Baekhyun. Nice to finally meeat you, Mr. Park.” When he wants to, Baekhyun can be very charming, a side Chanyeol didn’t expect him to have . He generously compliments the interior of the restaurants and promises to revisit during opening time ‘if the food is even half as good as the décor’. Chanyeol can’t help but roll his eyes at that, but his father eats it up, visibly glowing after receiving the praise. 

Baekhyun interrupts his spree of compliments to politely ask if he can use the bathroom. Chanyeol points towards the right direction before he resumes sweeping the table. “What a nice young man, why haven’t you introduced him yet? All your other friends have been over several times, yet I’ve never seen him,” his father asks while leaning on the table Chanyeol is cleaning. How is he going to brush this obvious invite for him to bring Baekhyun off? He’s just starting to get used to the guy, but that’s not nearly enough to introduce the other to his entire family. 

“I haven’t know him for that long, but I’ll bring him with me some day.” This will probably keep his father at bay for a while. Just as he expected, there are no more questions from his father, letting Chanyeol continue his cleaning in piece. Baekhyun is taking his sweet time in the bathroom, in the time that he’s been in there Chanyeol has already cleaned almost all the tables. As soon as he re-joins them in the sitting area of the restaurant, Chanyeol’s father shoos them both out of the door, assuring Chanyeol that he’ll take care of the rest.

The chilly night air feels unpleasant against his skin, a stark difference from the warmth inside the restaurant. It doesn’t come as a surprise, such is to be expected from British weather in the last few weeks of winter. Chanyeol looks over to Baekhyun, who looks content wrapped up in several layers. 

“I assume you didn’t walk all the way here just to visit my workplace.” There is no malice in Chanyeol’s tone, he’s merely curious why Baekhyun’s here instead of doing anything else.

“It’s late and I don’t want you to walk home on your own.” Is the explanation he gets. 

“Baekhyun, I’m a grown man. I don’t need you to guard me.” The idea of a much smaller Baekhyun protecting him from the threats that come with living in a small town is outright ridiculous. As an angel he might be able to smite him in half a second, but as a mere human he’s likely not much stronger than Chanyeol. 

“Who said anything about guarding you?” Baekhyun replies cheekily, his smile mostly obscured by the scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. “I just really enjoy your company and couldn’t wait for you to get home.” That sounds like an excuse, but Chanyeol will take it. It’s probably engrained into Baekhyun’s nature to protect him, so it’s not like he can blame the guy. His hunch is confirmed when Baekhyun jumps in front of him after hearing a rustling in the bush near them. Turns out it’s only a bird, but the other’s rosy coloured cheeks and embarrassed smile give Chanyeol a good chuckle. 

“So you weren’t just willing to fight a pigeon for me?” Chanyeol teases and gets a harsh slap against his upper arm in response. 

“Shut up. I’m not only here to fight random birds for you. I also talked to my colleague.” Is this supposed to mean something to Chanyeol? Baekhyun waits a beat before looking at him with wide eyes. “How do you not get that? I talked to your father’s guardian angel.” 

“Could have said that in the first place,” Chanyeol huffs before Baekhyun’s comment properly sinks in. “So? What did they say?” He subtly crosses his fingers behind his back, hoping that there is way for Baekhyun to go back earlier. Not only will he have his apartment to himself again, but Baekhyun will get his powers back.

“She said that doing something heroic and having heaven notice me might be a shortcut. Like saving someone from drowning for example,” Baekhyun explains calmly. The chance that something like that will happen within the span of ten months is so little they might as well wait. Besides, chances are that playing the hero will get Baekhyun seriously injured or even worse, killed. 

“It might be? What if it isn’t and you die?” Chanyeol feels his stomach churning from simply thinking about that doom scenario. He can put up with Baekhyun for the remainder of the year if that is the alternative. 

Baekhyun doesn’t look affected by this at all and just shrugs. “It doesn’t hurt to try. I won’t purposefully put myself in any danger, but it can’t be something too small. Just helping an old woman cross the street isn’t getting mbe back in heaven.” 

“I understand, but…” But what? Is he seriously considering asking Baekhyun to just wait for ten months? What just overcame him? He has been so hell bent on having the apartment to himself again, why this sudden change? What’s he going to get out of this? A good conversation? That’s something he can have with tons other people. There has to be a reason why he doesn’t want Baekhyun to go, but he can’t figure it out. He does get attached rather quickly, but he just can’t imagine himself forming a bond with someone who annoyed him to no end just a few days ago. 

“If you want me to stay you can just say so,” Baekhyun teases, winking at Chanyeol who just groans in response. “Something else entirely, how was work?” 

Chanyeol can appreciate this 180 from their precious conversation, not really sure what to respond to Baekhyun’s teasing now that he knows his answer would undoubtedly be ‘yes’. He reaches for the paper in his back pocket and shows Baekhyun the number on it, telling the story of the elderly woman that wouldn’t leave him alone. There might be some slight exaggeration in some parts, but Baekhyun doesn’t need to know. Chanyeol could get used to this, telling al his work stories to Baekhyun right after they happened, their faces only illuminated by the moon and the occasional street light as they make their way back from the restaurant. Baekhyun has some of his own to tell, launching into a story about someone watching porn in the middle of the local coffee shop. This has Chanyeol almost falling to his knees from laughter, especially when the other goes into detail about what kind of porn the strange man was watching. 

Once his apartment comes into view, Chanyeol realises how exhausted he is. He gives Tony a quick scratch behind his ear before heading to bed, closely followed by Baekhyun.  
The next day is just like the one before it. Chanyeol heads to work, Baekhyun does his own thing and they walk home together at the end of the day. They exchange stories yet again, weird customers never fail to provide Chanyeol with enough to tell. This continues into next week, and Chanyeol actually catches himself anticipating going home and talking to Baekhyun. When anything funny happens, the first thing that pops into his head is ‘Baekhyun is not going to believe what happened’. Even on days when Chanyeol has nothing particularly interesting to say, Baekhyun still listens attentively.

Chanyeol avoids asking too much questions about Baekhyun’s quest to get back into heaven, afraid that mentioning the subject will remind the former angel. It might be very selfish of Chanyeol that he wants the reason that he actually enjoys returning home to stay with him for as long as possible. There is no longer that dreadful empty feeling, it’s as if Baekhyun breathed new life into his apartment. Everything somehow looks more inviting, even though nothing has changed, only the presence of another human besides himself. Maybe all he needed was a roommate in order to actually enjoy going home. 

Before he knows it, the harsh, cold winds of winter make place for soft spring breezes. It never stops raining, (it’s British weather after all) but the temperature is slowly increasing, much to Chanyeol’s delight. Empty tree branches start filling up with bright, green leaves, a sight that indicates the dreadful long winter is finally over. With the change of the seasons, the dynamic between Baekhyun and Chanyeol also changes. Now that the latter has become more familiar with the former angel, their conversations are no longer limited to their daily activities. A deeper connection is starting to form between them, something that Chanyeol is dreading more than anything. Not because he doesn’t like Baekhyun as a person, but because as their bond is growing stronger, the day that he has to inevitably say goodbye looms closer. Chanyeol hates building up a friendship with someone just so he can lose them. Yet he doesn’t make any attempts to stop it. 

“Don’t go.” Is what Baekhyun tells him with pleading eyes as he’s about to leave for university one day. It’s not something Chanyeol was expecting, so instead of making a run for the bus so he’s still on time, he stands glued to the floor with his hand still on the doorknob. 

A dumbfounded “Why?” spills out of his mouth before he can stop himself. Baekhyun doesn’t make an attempt to stop him from going, still sitting cross-legged on the sofa. Two words is all it takes for Chanyeol to stay, not even considering the repercussions of skipping class. 

“I’m always so bored when you aren’t here. Reading and watching your favourite things interrupted by getting coffee is only fun for so long, you know?” 

“Why don’t you get a job or enrol in university again then?” 

Baekhyun sighs heavily. “I’ve been dead for 45 years, I technically don’t exist anymore. Don’t think that can get me a job or education anywhere.” 

The considerable shift in Baekhyun’s usual cheerful mood doesn’t sit well with Chanyeol, who walks over to the other man and envelopes him in a tight embrace. Since Baekhyun isn’t one to shy away from close contact, Chanyeol has long since accepted that his friend needs the occasional human touch. That could be walking closer together than necessary, a hand on his knee when they’re sitting on the sofa or a hug like the one they’re sharing now. It didn’t take long for him to get used to Baekhyun’s touchy feely nature, maybe because it’s something he needed as well. 

“Seeing as that means you would be 68 years old now, I probably wouldn’t hire you as well.” Chanyeol’s joke is received by hard shove that causes him to topple off the sofa. This sends Baekhyun into an absolute frenzy, who has tears streaming down his face from laughter while Chanyeol groans in pain on the floor. When he doesn’t make an attempt to get up, Baekhyun eventually takes pity on Chanyeol and hauls him up. 

“I was gonna offer you help to get a job, but that’s off the table now that you pushed me,” Chanyeol says in mock offense, trying to get a rise out of Baekhyun. That somehow works, because now he has a lap full of Baekhyun furiously insisting that it wasn’t his intention followed up by a string of apologies. Chanyeol thinks that the former angel looks rather cute like this, but he keeps that information strictly to himself. 

“I was kidding, Baek. I just need to make a phone call and then we can go do something fun together. But don’t think I’m skipping any more school just because you’re bored.” That last sentence is directed more to himself than to Baekhyun. Chanyeol leaves the other in the living room and dials an all too familiar number.

“Miss me already?” Even through the phone Sehun somehow manages to be an insufferable brat. 

“Actually shut up. I didn’t call you just so you can annoy me.” Chanyeol bites back.

“I do that anyway. Then why’d you call? It’s not like I’m not extremely busy.” There is some swearing at the other end of the line before Chanyeol recognises the sound of Sehun getting last place in Mario Cart in the background. Of course gaming falls under Sehun’s definition of being ‘extremely busy’. 

“Are you still in contact with that Jongin guy?” 

“Depends on who’s asking.” Comes the cryptic response.

“I’m asking,” Chanyeol deadpans, already done with Sehun’s games. 

“What do you need from him? I know I said he gives good head, but I don’t think Baekhyun would be too happy about that arrangement.” Chanyeol chooses to ignore yet another comment from Sehun about Baekhyun and his supposed relationship in favour of actually getting somewhere with this conversation. 

“I need a completely new identity for Baekhyun. Official British papers, prove that he went to primary and secondary school here, the whole package. Jongin does that type of stuff, right?” When Sehun had remained in contact with one of his flings, Chanyeol was surprised at first. Somehow Jongin and Sehun had formed a kind of strange friendship while fucking each other’s brains out for one night. It went so far that Jongin informed the younger about his ‘side job’, something Sehun hadn’t kept a kept to himself for long. He even told Chanyeol, Jongdae and Kyungsoo that if they needed their grades raised, or even something more extreme, he could make sure Jongin gave them a discount. Chanyeol vividly remembers scoffing at the suggestion at first, but he did make sure to write it down. Never would he have imagined that Jongin’s shady ‘job’ would come in handy someday. 

It remains quiet at the other side of the line for a while, before Sehun starts straight up yelling at him. “What the fuck, Chanyeol? Why does he even need that? Is he some kind of criminal and holding you hostage? Blink twice if you’re in trouble!” 

“First of all Sehun, how would you see me blinking through the phone? Secondly, Baekhyun just needs a new identity so he can get a job and go to school. He’s a… fugitive, yes. So he’s unable to have a proper life without the right British papers and qualifications. I would ask you not to tell Kyungsoo, but I know you’re gonna do that anyway.” Chanyeol is sure that everything he’s ever told Sehun eventually ended up reaching Kyungsoo’s ears and the other way around. 

“I’ll see what I can do for you, mate. It’s not going to be cheap, you know that right? And I meant what I said, if Baekhyun ever gives you some kind of trouble, you can always contact me,” Sehun adds, sounding more worried that Chanyeol has ever heard him. 

“I will, thanks mate.” 

“I’ll text you as soon as I made the deal, yeah?” They each say their respective goodbyes before Chanyeol hangs up the phone. He’s probably not going to hear the end of this, but making up the fugitive excuse is far better that the other option. Telling the truth will get both Baekhyun and him in a mental hospital. A full minute after the call is when he realises this is all a very bad idea, it could easily land him into trouble doing something this illegal. He actually surprises himself with how easily he dove into all this, seeing as he studies law and is well aware what kind of consequences forging official papers has. Not even a second was spent on consideration, simply because Baekhyun said he was bored. 

All Chanyeol’s troubles melt away as soon as Baekhyun’s whole face lights up when he re-enters the living room. “What are we gonna do today?” Baekhyun asks, eyes filled with excitement. Chanyeol considers this for a moment, thinking of the limited options they have now that he needs to save up to pay for Jongin’s services. 

“How about the local art museum? I heard they have a new exhibit.” Baekhyun’s doesn’t seem to have any objections to this, so after re-filling Tony’s bowl and preparing their lunch, the pair leaves for the museum. Although art has never really been Chanyeol’s forte, he can apricate the pure fascination displayed on Baekhyun’s face every time his eyes move to another piece. Chanyeol is so busy observing his friend that he almost forgets that he’s supposed to stare at the paintings instead. The exhibit itself is actually quite lovely now that he’s finally paying attention. He takes a liking to a piece displaying the sunset almost as he’s actually looking at one, the bright colours accurately reflecting its sheer beauty. The painting itself is surprisingly inexpensive, but Chanyeol prioritizes Baekhyun’s new identity over hanging something on his wall. 

“Of course you take a liking to the sunset painting,” Baekhyun fondly shakes his head before pulling him by his sleeve. “There are other parts of this exhibit, you know? You’ve been staring at it for a while now.” Chanyeol sneaks one last glance at the painting before following Baekhyun in whatever direction he’s leading them. They spent the rest of their morning in the museum before heading to the local park to enjoy their pre-packaged lunch. It’s nice, Chanyeol thinks to himself, spending the day with Baekhyun in such a date-like fashion. It reminds him of his time spent with his previous boyfriend, only there is a lot less fighting. Chanyeol stops himself before his thoughts continue down this dangerous road. 

Once they are finished eating, they make a quick stop at the electronica store to get Baekhyun the cheapest phone they had to offer. Because who in this day and age still doesn’t have a smartphone? The remainder of the day is spent explaining how the device and the internet works to a certain extent. This results in Chanyeol getting spammed with old memes while he’s in class the next days, Baekhyun slowly getting the hang of everything. In between the countless of messages from his flatmate, Chanyeol notices that he received a text from Sehun about their ‘deal’. Apparently Jongin is now finished with everything and was willing to offer a hefty discount. Never in his life has Chanyeol been more grateful for forming a friendship with Sehun. 

Going home has never been more exciting now that he is bearing such great news. “Baekhyun!” He shouts while he hasn’t even fully entered their apartment yet. 

“Chanyeol! Why are you shouting?” Baekhyun shouts back equally loud, a playful smile gracing his features. 

Chanyeol is quick to take a seat next to his friend on the sofa, his legs bouncing in anticipation. “I have amazing news. I got you a new identity so you can get a job and go to school.” To say Baekhyun isn’t as excited as he is would be an understatement. His whole faces falls as soon as Chanyeol finished speaking. 

“That’s really kind of you, but doesn’t that get you in all kinds of trouble?” 

“Don’t worry. Jongin and whoever his partners may be are really good at their job,” Chanyeol tries to reassure his friend, who’se worried expression doesn’t fade in the slightest. “Just try to search for work and if something happens, I’ll take the blame.” 

“I don’t know.” It sounds hesitant, uncertain. Still, it’s not a flat out rejection. 

Chanyeol tries his hardest to recreate Baekhyun’s signature puppy look, widening his eyes and sticking out his bottom lip. “Please.” 

“Fine. But only if you accompany me on my quest tonight.” 

“What quest?” 

The smirk he gets in return can’t possibly mean anything good. “You’ll see.”


	5. Chapter 5

Baekhyun’s ‘quest’ takes them to a neighbourhood close to their own and it’s somehow still unclear to Chanyeol what they’re supposed to be doing here. To be quite frank, he’s getting really tired of Baekhyun’s vague answers. 

“If you don’t tell me what we’re doing right now, I’m going to block you. That means you can’t send me any more memes.” Chanyeol threatens. 

“All right you got me, I just wanted to go clubbing,” Baekhyun admits with a shit eating grin. If he had pulled such a stunt a few months ago, Chanyeol would have strangled him where he stood. However, time has passed since then and he lets himself willingly get dragged into a nightclub. Seeing as it is one of the few nightclubs in town, the dancefloor is packed. Young people looking for an escape or a warm body to share the night with all gather here. Chanyeol vaguely recalls visiting the club with his friends a couple of times. Their nights would always end the same. Sehun would excuse himself so he could shag a random stranger he just met, Kyungsoo would start moping about it and Jongdae would get drunk out of his mind. When the sun started peeking behind the horizon, Chanyeol would always be the one to drag a grumpy Kyungsoo and a stumbling Jongdae home. It’s fair to say that after the fifth time that it happened, Chanyeol declined his friends’ numerous offers to accompany them. 

With Baekhyun it will be different, or so he hopes. The bass-heavy music currently playing isn’t much to Chanyeol’s taste, but he can enjoy himself no matter the music when he’s with the right company. Baekhyun leads him to the middle of the crowd while dancing along to the music. Chanyeol finds himself mesmerised with the sensual movements of Baekhyun’s body, letting his eyes roam from his wide shoulders to his plush looking thighs. Chanyeol probably looks like a fool standing still in the middle of the sweaty bodies filling up the dance floor, but he can’t find it within himself to care. At the moment, all he can think of, all he can see is Baekhyun. He wants to touch Baekhyun, he wants to feel what it’s like to have the other pressed up against him. So close that they won’t know where their own body ends and the other begins. 

Baekhyun suddenly starts leaning in close, is he perhaps thinking the same? Chanyeol closes his eyes in anticipation, but instead of feeling soft lips against his own, there is sudden shouting in his ear. “Can I borrow some money? I’m thirsty. You want something to drink as well?” 

The pang of disappointment leaves Chanyeol speechless for a while, scoffing inwardly at himself for getting his hopes up. He’s normally not someone who will dive in bed with just anyone, but if he starts having these very non-platonic thoughts about his friend, it’s about time to break that tradition. Thinking Baekhyun is attractive is one thing, but actually wanting to have sex with him is a whole new level of trouble. An outsider might say that Chanyeol’s other friends are attractive too, but he has never even considered fucking them. Meanwhile, Baekhyun is still waiting for an answer, impatiently tapping his shoulder to remind him of the fact that he hasn’t responded. Chanyeol wordlessly takes his wallet out of his pocket and hands the other the first few bills he can get his hands on. “Whatever is fine,” is what he tells Baekhyun just to get him out of his hair. One of the advantages of being taller than the average is than he can easily scan the club to look for a potential one night stand. After a good sweep or two, he locks eyes with a cute looking blonde woman giving his major bedroom eyes. She beckons him over with two fingers, not at all subtle about her intentions. Chanyeol almost too eagerly makes his way over to her, willing himself to forget Baekhyun and his sinful body. 

One song turns into two, three, four songs of flirtatious dancing. The woman, whose name he hasn’t even bothered asking, has obviously had enough of just dancing, whispering in his ear that she’s ready to bring him home. There is a voice in the back of his head reminding him that Baekhyun has yet to return from getting their drinks. This keeps him from agreeing with the proposal, opting to call his lost friend instead. His worry turns into panic when Baekhyun fails to answer his phone. 

“I’m sorry about this, but I really need to find my friend.” 

The woman doesn’t look that heart-broken about his refusal. “It’s okay, maybe next time?” She winks before re-joining the crowd of people on the dancefloor. Chanyeol pushes himself up to his tiptoes, scanning every corner of the nightclub. When he doesn’t spot the familiar mob of raven black hair anywhere, he decides to try his luck outside. The alley behind the club is notorious for the sheer number of fights that take place there. Judging from the sounds of scuffling and shouting he hears long before he turned the corner, there is currently one going on. When Chanyeol recognises an all to familiar voice he makes a run for it, finding Baekhyun at last. The former angel is currently helping some guy with several cuts on his face off the ground. Another man looms above them, his hands bawled into fists, ready to swing. In a flash, Baekhyun has the guy pinned up against the opposite wall, not even breaking a sweat while holding him down. 

Chanyeol decides that now would be the ideal time to step in. “Baekhyun, what are you doing?” He moves to help the injured man leaning against the wall, but his eyes never leave Baekhyun, who looks like a deer caught in headlights. 

“I saved Yixing from a severe beating,” Baekhyun nods his head in the direction of the man, named Yixing apparently, slumped against Chanyeol’s side. “I hope that you learned your lesson, but don’t think I’m done with you yet.” Baekhyun threatens before letting the guy squirming underneath him go. Was this an attempt to get back to heaven earlier? It sure seems like it. Chanyeol frantically looks around in search for any sign of another angel trying to contact Baekhyun. When it doesn’t seem like one was going to show up anytime soon, he redirects his attention to Baekhyun.

“Why didn’t you tell me what you were going to do, I was really worried. I tried to call you, at least have the decency to pick up your phone next time!” Chanyeol hears himself yelling this to Baekhyun, who flinches at the volume of his voice. He didn’t mean to sound so hostile and follows up his biting words with an apology. He’s not someone who gets aggravated easily, but the worry that Baekhyun would leave earlier than planned makes his blood run cold. 

“It’s okay, I should have told you where I was going at least, but it sounded like Yixing was in dire need of help. So I was a bit too busy to pick up the phone.” A bashful expression flickers across Baekhyun’s features before he’s back to his happy go lucky self. A weight is being lifted from Chanyeol’s side, Baekhyun has thrown one of Yixing’s arms over his own shoulders. “I’m going to take him home, don’t worry about me,” He assures Chanyeol, already getting ready to move out of the alley. 

“Are you sure? You don’t want me to help?” It’s an attempt to inform Baekhyun that he actually wants to come with them disguised as a question. 

Baekhyun’s eyes flicker over to Yixing before he shakes his head. “You’re obviously a little on edge, go enjoy yourself in the club. Don’t worry about me, I’m just going to help Yixing.” With that, Baekhyun turns to leave, dragging Yixing along with him. The reason why Baekhyun insist on helping Yixing on his own seems fairly obvious to Chanyeol. Tending to his wounds is probably not the only thing Baekhyun will be doing tonight, which pisses him off more than he’d like to admit.. Chanyeol finds himself re-entering the club, frustrated and not at all in the mood to ‘enjoy himself’ like Baekhyun told him to. Now Yixing is going to be at the receiving end of Baekhyun’s dazzling smiles, something a mere stranger doesn’t deserve. He considers calling it a night until he spots a familiar looking head poking out of the crowd. 

“Hey fellow Litty Titty Lads, I hadn’t even seen you guys!” Chanyeol shouts over the music and gets three sly smiles in return.

“So ya finally decided to go find someone,” Jongdae speaks up while swaying out of beat, the drink in his hand dangerously close to spilling on the floor. “And ya didn’t even invite us.” 

“Well,” Chanyeol begins to explain, only to get cut off by Sehun.

“Please Jongdae. Why would he need to find someone when he already has Baekhyun.” Chanyeol frowns. Statements like this from Sehun would normally be a minor annoyance, but now he’s reminded that Baekhyun left him for the first attractive stranger that crossed his path. It’s not like he can fault him for that, now that the angel is human again, he must have certain needs too. Only the abandonment hurts so bad for reasons that he doesn’t want to think about. This leaves him confused and irritated, so much so that Chanyeol latches out instead of laughing off Sehun’s comment like usual.

“For the last fucking time, Baekhyun and I are not in a relationship. Get that through your thick skull. In fact, he’s probably shagging some other guy as we speak. So knock it off!” Time to process the varying reactions to his outburst is cut short when Chanyeol marches out of the nightclub, not caring that he bumps into several people on his way to the exit. Hot, angry tears stream down his face before he can properly register that he’s crying. It might not have been the worst night of his life, but it’s certainly up there. He barely left the club and is already regretting his fierce reaction. Sehun can be a bit of a brat on occasion, but he doesn’t deserve to be yelled at. Besides, he can’t help it that Chanyeol indirectly got rejected by Baekhyun, if you can even call it a rejection. He’s still not even sure if the lust combined with the affection he feels for the other can be labelled as love, which makes this situation all the more frustrating. 

Several tear tracks stain his cheeks by the time Chanyeol returns to their apartment. Instead of going to bed after this exhausting night, he scoops up Tony in his arms and pours out all of his worries to his bunny. Who, no surprise there, doesn’t offer him any words of consolation, but instead buries his head in his arms. Chanyeol considers the gesture as a sign for him to stop talking and go to sleep, the first sun rays are already starting to chase away the darkness. He puts Tony down before flopping down on the sofa, refusing to fall asleep in the bed Baekhyun and he have shared so frequently. 

The following morning is not much better, with Baekhyun absolutely glowing opposite of him at the kitchen table. His eyes almost beg Chanyeol to ask questions, which he stubbornly refuses, wolfing down his toast before leaving, not offering Baekhyun anything besides a short “Goodbye.” 

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go, Baekhyun throwing him a sorrowful look right before he closes the door behind him. Chanyeol should be supportive of his decision, it’s not like he owns the guy. He can’t find it within himself to pretend to be happy for his friend, but why is it so hard for him to act like before? It’s clear that in Baekhyun’s eyes, nothing changed between them, which he should be absolutely right about. Only Chanyeol can’t help but let the disappointment overtake his rationality and shut Baekhyun out. 

His long legs take him to Sehun’s apartment, which he basically shares with Kyungsoo at this point, so it might not be appropriate to call it that anymore. The main reason for his visit is to apologise for his outburst, also because he needs someone to tell him that’s he’s not going crazy. Chanyeol’s nerves finally catch up to him when he rings the doorbell, at this point he can’t stop fidgeting. Instead of Sehun, Kyungsoo opens the door, something Chanyeol should have come to expect at this point. 

“Kyungsoo, you’re here. What a surprise,” Chanyeol says, voice dripping with sarcasm. The punch to his upper arm isn’t undeserved, but it hurts nonetheless. Sehun has his legs spread out on the entirety of the sofa and looks only mildly interested when Kyungsoo returns with Chanyeol closely behind. His initial plan is to take a seat next to Sehun, but Kyungsoo beats him to the punch, snuggling close to their youngest friend. The beanbag chair on the other side of the sofa is not the most comfortable seat, but it beats standing in the middle of the living room.

“What’s the reason for your unexpected visit? I know I’m excellent company but we saw each other earlier today.” Sehun is not someone who holds grudges, so it’s not out of the ordinary for him to think Chanyeol is visiting just to hang out. 

“I came to apologise about yesterday. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, I’m really sorry.” 

“Don’t worry about that, my teasing can get a tad annoying sometimes so I get it.” Sehun shrugs nonchalantly, seemingly not bothered by last night’s events at all. “I just don’t understand what got you so upset though, you’re generally not that bothered when I say stuff like that.” Where is Sehun going with this? Chanyeol would rather have the bean bag chair swallow him whole than confront whatever is brooding inside of him. “Is it because you wish that what I said is the truth, perhaps?” Both Sehun and Kyungsoo shoot him a knowing look from their close position on the sofa. It’s like they already know what he’s going to answer before he even had the chance to open his mouth. 

“I don’t know,” Chanyeol hesitates. He isn’t close to figuring everything out himself, but putting that into exact words proves to be quite the challenge. “It’s just that I find Baekhyun very attractive and enjoy every moment I spent with him. But would I want to be in a relationship with him? No.” Chanyeol winces at the air of finality that surrounds his answer, disliking the way he dismissed the suggestion so easily. “Maybe, I don’t know.” 

There is something in Sehun’s eyes that tells Chanyeol that he’s currently experiencing something similar, the younger man even offering him an encouraging smile. “It’s okay that you haven’t figured everything out yet. Time will tell.” 

“Besides, it’s not like Baekhyun is going anywhere anytime soon,” Kyungsoo adds, unintentionally reminding him his time with Baekhyun is in fact limited. With that in mind, ignoring the angel might be one of the stupidest things Chanyeol has done in a while, knowing full well that in about half a year Baekhyun will no longer be amongst them. Chanyeol should fully exploit every waking moment he has with the other instead of moping about. 

“I have to go.” Chanyeol jumps up from his seat and is out of the door in no time, running to his home with a speed he didn’t know he possessed. He’s completely out of breath when he stumbles into their apartment, receiving a questioning look from Baekhyun. 

“Are you okay?” Baekhyun walks over to a still heaving Chanyeol, putting a hand on his lower back. It’s not an unusual gesture, but it causes his breath to get caught in his throat nonetheless. Now that Chanyeol has finally admitted his attraction to his flatmate, every touch from Baekhyun causes his heart to skip a beat. 

“I’m fine, I just ran all the way here from Sehun’s,” Chanyeol utters in between shallow breaths, hoping that it will reassure Baekhyun enough that he retracts his hand. As expected, that’s not all what happens. Instead, Baekhyun is guiding him to the sofa with both hands and sits down next to him, their thighs pressing together entirely. One day, Baekhyun’s thighs are going to be the reason for his downfall. Chanyeol’s eyes glide over the other’s upper legs clad in ripped skinny jeans He has to mentally stop himself from moving his hand and cupping a feel. His gaze flickers back up to Baekhyun’s eyes, that are filled with concern.

“You were weird this morning and now you sound like you’re dying. Doesn’t seem that fine to me.” 

“It is, I promise,” Chanyeol assures Baekhyun after finally catching his breath. “So, how was it with Yixing?” Even though he would rather not know, Chanyeol pushes himself to ask the question. Baekhyun is always prepared to listen to his rambling, the least he can do is show some interest in Baekhyun’s life, even if it’s not genuine. 

Baekhyun’s eyes seem to almost sparkle with excitement when he talks about last night’s events. “It was a really eventful night and Yixing was so kind,” Chanyeol tries not to let his mostly negative emotions bleed into his expression. It’s not hard to guess what the other means with ‘eventful night’. “At first we went to his apartment and I helped him disinfect all the cuts. After a while his roommate woke up from all the noise, his name was Layhan or something, I don’t remember. Anyway, he assisted me with cleaning the wounds on Yixing’s face, such a nice bloke. A little weird though, his face was so ugly when he laughed, you should’ve seen it! But really nice.” 

Chanyeol quirks an eyebrow at the unexpected direction Baekhyun’s story takes, not anticipating the fact that another person would join. “We talked all night long, they had so much to tell. Then we went to the police station in the morning to press charges against the arsehole from the club.” 

“You talked all night?” Relief washes over Chanyeol and he releases the unintentional built up tension in his shoulders. “Impressive. I would definitely fall asleep during one of your never ending stories,” Chanyeol teases, his mood notably lifted now that he knows that nothing happened between Baekhyun and Yixing. 

“Hey! You don’t hear me complain about the fact that you get side-tracked every second during your nonsensical rambling,” Baekhyun pouts and Chanyeol is happy that everything is back to normal. They continue talking about this and that before he heads off to work.

The usual daily routine continues until Baekhyun announces that he found a job for himself as well. With the fake but impressive credentials Jongin managed to come up with, it was only a matter of time. Baekhyun will be working at the local animal shelter during the days that Chanyeol is in school, making sure that their schedules don’t clash and they are able to spend as much time together as possible. On occasion they are joined by Jongdae, Sehun and Kyungsoo, filling up the apartment with several voices. Even when they are surrounded by their friends, Baekhyun and Chanyeol stick together. 

The seasons change before his eyes, yet Chanyeol doesn’t really notice, his thoughts filled with only Baekhyun. When the nights are not unbearable hot anymore and green leaves start to wither, Chanyeol realises that he has undoubtedly, madly, deeply fallen in love with Baekhyun. Somewhere in between their lively conversations, sharing face spilling smiles and waking up next to each other every day, he has fallen hard. It was bound to happen that someone so good to him, so good for him was going to capture his heart. Baekhyun has become such an important part of his life, but their time together is running out. This leaves Chanyeol with a heavy heart, watching the minutes tick by while still trying to enjoy Baekhyun’s presence. 

In very Chanyeol like fashion, he doesn’t act upon his feelings, keeping them locked away deep inside of himself. Ruining their last few months together by bringing his feelings into the mix isn’t a good idea. Even if he does and everything goes well, the eventual heartbreak is going to be inevitable. For the first time in his life, he’s not anticipating the holidays and New Year’s, knowing full well that those might be the last days he gets to spend with Baekhyun.   
Unless… he can make him stay. Without explicitly asking of course, he doesn’t want to pressure the other into anything. With a slither of hope he formulates a plan. Chances are that it might not work, but it doesn’t hurt to try.


	6. Chapter 6

The plan that Chanyeol comes up is nothing special or extravagant. He just wants to emphasise the fact that he’s glad to have Baekhyun with him. It’s a way to convince the angel to stay without actually asking. This comes in the form of extra affection or subtly mentioning that he enjoys Baekhyun’s presence during conversations. The latter seems to enjoy all the extra attention he receives, his lips curling up in a shy smile when the touches between them linger longer than necessary. Chanyeol also makes sure to capture enough pictures of the two of them, to ensure that even if he leaves, Baekhyun’s face will never fade from his memory. Yet, Chanyeol never brings up the subject of the angel returning to his position and neither does Baekhyun. They carefully dance around it, never threading too close to what could be a devastating conversation. 

Winter is in full swing, the days are rapidly getting shorter. A year back, Chanyeol’s mood would plummet when he returned to a cold, dark apartment. Now light as well as Baekhyun’s rich singing voice floods in as soon as he opens the door, snowflakes still clinging to his dark locks. Soon, Baekhyun is all over him, wiping the snow out of his hair and warming up his icy hands. After a few minutes Chanyeol notices the mysterious brown package leaning against the wall. Excitement bubbles up in his chest, it might not even be for him, but he always loves surprises. 

“What’s that?” Chanyeol points towards the package while looking at Baekhyun in anticipation of an answer. The other cracks a wide smile, one so beautiful that it almost blinds Chanyeol. 

“I got it for you,” Baekhyun responds and encourages Chanyeol to open it. Right after he received the confirmation that it was meant for him, he starts to over-eagerly tear the paper away, revealing the bright and familiar colours of the familiar sunset painting. Chanyeol can’t seem to tear his gaze away, taking in all the details and every brushstroke. The painting is as beautiful as the day he saw it at the museum, but an air of finality surrounds this sudden kind gesture from Baekhyun. It might very well be a departing gift, there is no birthday or anniversary coming up in the near future, nor any other reason to give a present. Chanyeol can feel his eyes watering at nonverbal confirmation of his biggest fear; Baekhyun leaving him behind at the end of the year. His bottom lip starts to quiver and soon his emotions spill over. A hand on his shoulder pulls him into a tight embrace, and soon Chanyeol is surrounded by the warmth of Baekhyun’s body. 

They stay like that for a while, Chanyeol fully convinced that this is Baekhyun’s way of prematurely saying goodbye before it’s too late. That thought causes him to start full on bawling his eyes out, his whole body shocking with violent sobs. Baekhyun is very patient with him, letting Chanyeol soak his T-shirt with his tears as well as rubbing soothing circles on his back. When it seems like Chanyeol has run out of tears to shed, the pair still doesn’t break contact. Chanyeol realises that he just spent a full ten minutes crying over a painting and got a severe headache as a result.

“I’m sorry for crying, but it was from happiness.” No it wasn’t. He is neither fooling himself nor Baekhyun, judging from the sceptical look on the other’s face. 

“You don’t have to lie to me, Chanyeol. What’s really going on?” 

“Nothing, I was just being overly emotional. I really love your gift.” Chanyeol forces himself to smile trying to convince his friend. When nothing in Baekhyun’s expression changes, Chanyeol tries to push further by tenderly pressing his lips against the soft skin of Baekhyun’s cheek. The gesture is not out of the ordinary for the two of them, Chanyeol hopes it will distract the other enough to drop their current topic nevertheless. Maybe he lingered a tad too long for it to be considered purely platonic, but what does he have to lose at this point? It seems to do the trick, Baekhyun’s eyes light up after the tender kiss. 

“A single kiss is all I get for buying you that painting? Give me another,” Baekhyun demands playfully, their previous conversation long forgotten. Chanyeol’s body acts before his mind can even catch up and he finds himself planting another kiss on Baekhyun’s forehead. Thinking that this must be enough to satisfy the other, Chanyeol draws back. Instead of taking the opportunity to play it off as a joke, Baekhyun sticks out his bottom lip and asks for another. 

Chanyeol raises his eyebrows but complies nonetheless, this time choosing Baekhyun’s cute nose as his target. 

“Another.” 

This time around, it’s Baekhyun’s other cheek.

“Another.” 

Eyes.

“Another.” 

Chin.

“Another.” Chanyeol let’s his eyes glide over Baekhyun’s face looking for a spot that his lips haven’t touched. Baekhyun’s mouth is the only remaining option, his cheeks already heating up from the mere thought of kissing the beautiful man in front of him. 

“Baekhyun.” Chanyeol tries to reason with Baekhyun, but the other cuts in and repeats the same word again, bringing their faces closer together. His heartbeat skyrockets, beating so loud that he’s convinced the other might even hear it. Hot puffs of air fan against Chanyeol’s face, their noses almost touching. It’s rather obvious what Baekhyun’s intentions are, so Chanyeol dives in before the smaller man might change his mind. The softness of Baekhyun’s lips feels amazing against his own slightly chapped ones. As much as he wants to show the other how attentive he can be, he can’t stop himself from hungerly deepening the kiss as soon as an opportunity presents itself. Chanyeol sneaks his tongue into Baekhyun’s hot wet cavern, his eagerness preventing him from using any proper technique, letting himself explore every corner of Baekhyun’s mouth instead. 

Chanyeol snakes his hands around Baekhyun’s neck in an attempt to bring him closer, finding their current contact not nearly enough. Baekhyun is more than willing to comply, planting himself in Chanyeol’s lap without somehow breaking their intense kiss. It’s the perfect opportunity for him to let his hands travel south, kneading Baekhyun’s thighs through the fabric of his jeans, causing the other to let out a soft whimper. This continues for a while before Chanyeol finds the courage to wrap his fingers around Baekhyun’s well-rounded behind, pushing the other even further in his lap. Meanwhile, Baekhyun’s hands haven’t been motionless either, slender fingers start popping open the buttons of Chanyeol’s blouse one by one. Their lips remain attached, even when the pair needs to catch their breath, they never stray far from each other. 

The air prickles the newly revealed skin of Chanyeol’s chest, he barely noticed that Baekhyun managed to take off his buttendown. Not liking the fact that he’s the only one showing a bit of skin, Chanyeol breaks the kiss in order to rid Baekhyun of his shirt too. His hands leave Baekhyun’s bum in favour of touching the beautiful, unblemished skin of his torso, letting his fingers glide along every curve and edge. Just touching can only satisfy his curiosity for so long, he starts mouthing along Baekhyun’s neck, slowly making his way down. When he hears a gasp coming from above him when his lips graze over a nipple, he makes sure to give the buds some extra attention. A lot of teasing later, Chanyeol reaches the waistband of Baekhyun’s trousers, his movements coming to a halt. 

“Baekhyun, can I-”

“Yes! Better said, if you stop now we’re going to have a problem.” The threat doesn’t have any substance accompanied by the wide smile on Baekhyun’s face. He even slides off   
Chanyeol’s lap in order to give him better access. With shaky fingers, Chanyeol removes Baekhyun’s skinny jeans, the reality of what they’re about to do finally crashing into him. He’s afraid that after he’s had one taste, he’ll never want anyone else in his life. On the other hand, he is going to regret not using this opportunity to have sex with Baekhyun, something he’s been longing for for almost half a year. In the end, his dick wins the debate over the possibility of spending the remainder of his time alone. After a moment of hesitation, he removes the last article of clothing, leaving Baekhyun fully naked on the sofa. It’s quite the sight to behold and he takes it in with hungry eyes before continuing his teasing. 

Chanyeol wants to make the experience as pleasurable as possible for Baekhyun, as to make sure he’ll never forget the night they spent together. His lips follow the natural curves of Baekhyun’s body, avoiding the need between his legs on purpose. Chanyeol locks eyes with the former angel before sinking his teeth into the sensitive skin of his inner thighs. An entire display of emotions flicker across Baekhyun’s face, from shocked to immense pleasure. The hand fisted in his dark locks encourages him to continue, which he does. Several marks litter all across Baekhyun’s thighs when Chanyeol decides that he’s done. Even with dilated pupils, droplets of sweat on his skin and messy hair, Baekhyun looks stunning. Chanyeol can’t resist pushing himself up so he can reclaim those pouty lips once more. He sits up fully in order to fetch lube and condoms from his room, which is almost immediately met by outraged protesting sounds from Baekhyun.

“Where are you going? You better finish what you started!” 

Leave it up to Baekhyun to actually make him laugh in the middle of sex. As if Chanyeol would leave an absolutely irresistible looking Baekhyun behind. “I’m getting lube, but if you don’t want to be able to sit for the next few days we can do it without.” 

This effectively shuts Baekhyun up who now pushes him to hurry up. Chanyeol removes the clothes he was still wearing on the way, almost tripping when he hurriedly steps out of his trousers. There is not time to properly settle down when Baekhyun all but jumps on him as soon as he gets back. The action makes Chanyeol smile against the other’s lips. 

“Eager aren’t we?” 

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve been waiting for so long to touch you like this, to get you in this position. When you started working out I was practically begging for a second chance on earth. So let’s just say wanting to jump your bones for two years has left me very eager.” Chanyeol can’t believe the words coming out of Baekhyun’s mouth and stops moving completely.

“Wait, are you serious?” 

“Yes, now shut up and get to the good stuff already,” Baekhyun demands. Just as he is told, Chanyeol wastes no time messily smearing lube all over his fingers. He circles Baekhyun’s rim a couple of times before finally pushing the first finger past the tight ring of muscles. The angel gasps at the intrusion, his breath coming out uneven. It must have been a while for him, guarding Chanyeol for seven years probably didn’t come with loads of sex. In an attempt to distract the other and with that lighten the pain, Chanyeol uses his free hand to lazily stroke Baekhyun’s cock. The pained expression on his face smoothens out slightly, a soft moan even escapes his lips. Like he expected, it takes a while for him to get used to the intrusion, but Chanyeol enjoys the sight of Baekhyun slowly falling apart under his hands. When the third finger found it’s way into the tight heat, Chanyeol curls them up to find Baekhyun’s prostate. A full body shudder accompanied by a scream of his name tell him that he successfully located it. Chanyeol lets his blunt nails scrats over the spot several more times before slowly retracting his hands. He rolls on the condom in what must be record time and fills up Baekhyun once more.

Behind them, the evening sunrays illuminate the top of Baekhyun’s head in an unearthly glow. Once again reminding Chanyeol that he’s lucky to have someone like him in his life. It might not have last long, but he’ll fondly look back on the time they spent together. He drops a tender kiss on Baekhyun’s forehead to disguise the fact that tears are starting to cling to his lashes. He swallows harshly and tries to focus on the here and now, to actually appreciate Baekhyun currently squirming underneath him. 

“Yeol, what’s taking you so long? Move!” The impatient tone snaps him out of it and he slams his entire length all the way in. Baekhyun groans and Chanyeol repeats the move over and over again. He uses one hand to hold Baekhyun in place while he lets the other map the soft skin of the man underneath him. The small sounds spilling from his lips aren’t enough, Chanyeol changes the angle so he can hit Baekhyun’s sweet spot. After a few attempts the volume increases significantly, signalling Chanyeol that he found the right angle. He brings their lips together for a heated kiss, plunging his tongue into Baekhyun’s mouth. It’s been a while since Chanyeol has had any action, so after a short while his hips are starting to stutter, putting an end to the fast paced rhythm he’s set for himself. The heat pooling in his abdomen is also a tell tale sign that he’s close. 

He wraps his long fingers around Baekhyun’s cock, using the pre-come oozing out from the tip as lube. Chanyeol trains his eyes solely on Baekhyun’s expression, his eyes rolling back and his mouth hanging open from pleasure. It doesn’t take long for either of them to reach their orgasm, dirtying themselves and the sofa in the process. Chanyeol rolls of Baekhyun before flopping down, both of them catching their breaths squeezed together on the small surface of the sofa. They share a lazy smile and a few knowing glances before they somehow make it to their bed. Having sex with someone for the first time usually keeps Chanyeol awake and in deep thought the whole night, but he’s too exhausted to keep his eyes open. 

Waking up next to Baekhyun has never been so calming now that they fucked most of the sexual tension out. The latter greets him with a wide smile and sleep filled eyes. “I can tell from personal experience that nothing on earth nor in heaven compares to waking up next to you.” 

“Ugh, Baek, that was so cheesy.” 

“Then why are you blushing?” Chanyeol isn’t blushing because of some cheesy comment from Baekhyun, he really isn’t. He quickly hides under the covers to conceal his heated cheeks. After realising they’re both still naked Chanyeol quickly pokes his head out, his face reddening even more. Images of Baekhyun’s face twisted in pleasure flash through his mind, his body already reacting by pumping all of his blood downwards. Baekhyun smirks at him and pushes his legs between Chanyeol’s under the blanket. Before he knows it, they’re wrapped up in each other again, dirtying the sheets of their newly made bed. Both sticky and aching, the they stumble to the bathroom and attempt to fit together in the bathtub. It’s on the smaller side, but they make it work. Baekhyun nestles between long, bow shaped legs, pressing his back to Chanyeol’s chest. 

The first few minutes are spent soaping up before that completely derails like most things they do. Chanyeol poured too much shampoo on Baekhyun’s hair and now occupies himself with making a giant quiff and laughing about it. 

“You look ridiculous.”

“And who’s fault is that?” Baekhyun responds before he turns around and splashes a handful of water in Chanyeol’s face. He’s is about to give Baekhyun a taste of his own medicine when the bathroom door slams open, revealing Kyungsoo, Jongdae and Sehun. All three of them are panting and wear matching panicked expressions. There isn’t even a comment about Baekhyun and him sitting in the tub together. 

“What the fuck are you three doing here? How did you even get in?” Chanyeol screams while trying to protect his private parts as best as he can. 

“The spare key under yer doormat of course.” Jongdae is the first one to speak up. It looks like both Sehun and Kyungsoo have more important matters to tell, but Chanyeol doesn’t give them the opportunity to do so.

“What? How do you know that I keep one there?” 

“Ya told me once when you were drunk. I was that time when ya fell over and spilled yer drink all over some bloke’s Gucci shirt. I remember him being so pissed, but it was an absolutely hideous shirt so I-”

“Jongdae,” Kyungsoo interrupts irritated. “That’s not why we’re here. Chanyeol you better explain my why some dodgy man in an expensive red suit asked me where you live. Does this have anything to do with that Jongin guy getting Baekhyun a fake identity.” 

“Wait, what?” 

Chanyeol ignores Jongdae’s understandable confusion to scowl at Sehun. He did expect his younger friend to tell Kyungsoo, but he’s still disappointed. Baekhyun noticeable stiffens besides him, a obvious sign that something’s wrong. The latter starts muttering curse words under his breath before directing a rather fierce grace to the three headed monster standing in front of the bathtub. 

“You need to get out, now!” Baekhyun demands. Kyungsoo, Sehun and Jongdae slowly shuffle out of the bathroom without much protest. It takes a while for Chanyeol to catch up with Baekhyun, but Kyungsoo description reminds him an awful lot of the demon that evaporated in his apartment almost a year ago. Suddenly it all falls into place in his head. He doesn’t even have to ask anything before Baekhyun starts explaining while hurriedly putting on his bathrobe. 

“They must have received information that I’m no longer guarding you. Hell knows you’re vulnerable to possession. High chance that the demon followed your friends home. You have silver cutlery, right?” Baekhyun looks determined, directing his question to Chanyeol who is still trying to process the information that has just been thrown at him. It eventually gets through to him that Baekhyun asked him a question, a very random one at that.

“Why?” 

“Demons can’t handle a material solely meant for mortals. That includes silver,” Baekhyun informs before running out of the bathroom, closely followed by Chanyeol. They’re surprised to find that Jongdae, Kyungsoo and Sehun haven’t left the apartment yet. Instead they’re all leaning against the front door, shushing the pair that just entered the living room. 

“We just spotted him in the hall.” Comes the panicked whisper from Kyungsoo, his eyes even wider than usual. Baekhyun starts wildly motioning towards the direction of their bedroom, instructing the others to stay there for the time being. The former angel heads over to the kitchen to grab one of the only silver knives Chanyeol owns, while the latter stays glued to the floor. He never even considered the possibility of a demon attack now that Baekhyun powers were gone. He feels nothing short of terrified at the impending danger, but he still wants to help. Baekhyun has other ideas however, directing him to the bedroom with a knife in his shaky hands. Idly sitting by and watching the action is not something Chanyeol’s planning on doing. He outright refuses to listen to Baekhyun, even in his current panicked state he doesn’t want the other to face the demon on his own. 

“Let me help,” Chanyeol pleads and adds as a soft “please,” to get the point across. 

The soft shake of Baekhyun’s head showed Chanyeol that the other isn’t convinced. He understands where the former angel is coming from, he has no experience whatsoever with handling demons. He just wants to feel like he contributes to Baekhyun’s safety as well. Baekhyun’s tendency to solve everything by himself was starting to get on Chanyeol’s nerves, the fear he was already experiencing now mixing with anger. The combination of those two strong emotions never means anything good and he finds himself yelling in frustration. 

“Why not? I know you said you’re willing to die to protect me, but I don’t want you to! Ever thought about that?” 

The sounds of the door slamming open followed by a man clad in a blood red suit entering the apartment cuts their arguing short. Chanyeol’s loud voice must have alerted the creature as to which apartment he should go to. The thing brushes Baekhyun aside with practised ease, effectively disarming him with the amount of forces he uses and takes big strides towards Chanyeol. The argument prevented Chanyeol from grabbing any weapon and now he’s left defenceless backed up against the wall with nowhere to go. The demon directs an evil smirk towards him before crowding up in Chanyeol’s space. His mind is screaming at him do something, anything to stop the attack, but his limbs refuse to cooperate, motionlessly hanging by his side. 

There is a snarl coming from behind them, causing the demon to whip his head around. “Get your fucking hands off him!” Sehun screams before throwing Chanyeol’s hardcover copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone towards them, hitting the demon square in the face. The creature clutches his face and lets out an inhumane shrieking sound. Chanyeol takes this opportunity to sprint away from the startled demon to help Baekhyun. The former angel already managed to stand up, assuring him that he needs no further assistance before marching forward. The demon has barely recovered from the immense pain before a silver knife plunges through his chest. The look of terror is the last thing Chanyeol sees before the creature, much like the last one, evaporates into thin air. Whereas the last time that happened had caused Chanyeol to panic, this time around relief floods through him. 

His feet carry him to Baekhyun and he pulls the angel into a firm hug, momentarily forgetting everything around him except for the man in his arms. Baekhyun clings to him like his life depends on it. Chanyeol gently cards his hands through Baekhyun’s hair, whispering sweet nothings into his ear, telling him how brave he is. The smaller man drops a kiss on his shoulder and offers him a watered down smile. They both obviously still need to come down from the shock, holding the one you feared losing the most in your arms certainly helps with that. Some ruckus coming from the other side of the room gets Chanyeol out of his ‘Baekhyun’ trance, and he detaches himself from their close position to assess the situation. The commotion is caused by Kyungsoo attempting to pull Sehun towards the door, while the latter protests loudly. 

“Soo, what are you doing? I want an explanation for Tweedledum and Tweedledumber,” Sehun whines while trying to wiggle himself out of the other’s grip. Chanyeol lets the obvious insult slide in favour of watching the mess unfold. 

“We need to talk,” Kyungsoo grits out, seemingly already over his initial shock, giving Sehun’s hand another tug.

“What do you want to talk about that’s more important than what just happened?” 

“About your dick in my arse, let’s go! I’ve never been so horny in my life. Seeing you being all brave got me so riled up I don’t even care anymore.” Kyungsoo admits without shame, not caring that everyone can hear him. Sehun looks astonished by the statement at which Chanyeol rolls his eyes. 

“Say no more.” The surprised expression is quickly replaced by a knowing smirk before Sehun eagerly throws open the door and the pair bolts out of Chanyeol’s apartment, something the latter is glad for. He absolutely did not want to hear the rest of that conversation, but he’s thrilled they finally figured their shit out. Even though it took an actual demon attack in order for that to happen. Now Chanyeol and Baekhyun are left with a confused and from the looks of it traumatised Jongdae. He wobbles over to the sofa and flops down, glancing towards them with eyes as big as saucers. 

“What the fuck just happened?” 

Jongdae sticks around for the entire story, leaving them only when he’s satisfied. That leaves Chanyeol and Baekhyun on their own again, who seem to agree that surviving a demon attack justifies watching Netflix the rest of the day. The both of them are visibly more paranoid in the next few weeks, Baekhyun even paints demon repellent symbols on the front door. It kind of looks like a weird art style, so Chanyeol doesn’t mind it all that much. Kyungsoo and Sehun eventually demand an explanation too, visiting them a few days before New Year’s with love bites littered all over their necks and intertwined hands. They invite both Baekhyun and Chanyeol to join them for the celebration, which the latter politely declines. Baekhyun will return to heaven on the 1st of January and Chanyeol doesn’t want to share the former angel with anyone else on his last day on earth. 

New Year is a day for celebration, an opportunity to start anew and better yourself with the beginning of another year. As a child, Chanyeol would always marvel at the wide display of various firework lighting up the sky, something that hasn’t changed once he’s gotten older. Where Jongdae, Kyungsoo and Sehun would get drunk off their arses during their joint celebration, Chanyeol wouldn’t even consume alcohol, not wanting to miss the fireworks. This New Year he dreads the countdown, fearing that Baekhyun will vanish right in front of his eyes. He follows the smaller man like lost puppy the entire day, not letting him out of his sight for too long. Baekhyun doesn’t share his concern, happily bouncing around and chugging several glasses of cheap champagne. He must be delighted that he can finally return to heaven, even if it comes at the cost of leaving Chanyeol behind. 

“Happy New Year!” Baekhyun screams over the roaring fireworks, pulling Chanyeol down for a kiss. He returns the kiss without his usual enthusiasm, trying his best to uphold the illusion that he’s happy for Baekhyun. They watch the fireworks for a while, side by side in front of the windows. Chanyeol gets a couple of text from people wishing him a prosperous new year, none of which he answers. Jongdae, Kyungsoo and Sehun even send him a photo of the three of them pouting with the description: ‘The Litty Titty Lads miss you’. He should be overjoyed that his friends are finally accepting his genius squad name, but his mood has plunged to an all time low. 

“Are you not feeling well? You’ve barely said anything the whole day.” They’re both laying in bed with the night light still on, illuminating the beauty that is Baekhyun’s face. The pair decided to call it a night after the clock passed 2 AM. Baekhyun’s joy has been replaced by concern, he leans further into Chanyeol’s space and pokes him in his side when the other doesn’t answer. 

“I just don’t want to go to sleep and have you gone the next day,” Chanyeol whispers, unable to stop himself from chocking up. He turns his head to wipe away a few traitorous tears traveling down his cheek. 

“Chanyeol look at me,” He does. “I’m not going anywhere while you’re asleep, that’s not something I would do. Relax and close your eyes, I’ll be here in the morning,” Baekhyun assures him, and like usual, Chanyeol believes everything that passes those rosy lips. With Baekhyun’s words in the back of his mind, Chanyeol eventually succumbs to his exhaustion. 

Panic rushes through him when he opens his eyes only to find that he’s alone in the bed. Some clattering sounds coming form the kitchen cause Chanyeol to make a run for it, bolting towards Baekhyun prodding around the kitchen. His arms cage the smaller man and he presses him to his chest, putting his face in the crook of Baekhyun’s neck. It’s only when a strong burning smell invades his nostrils when he let’s go, causing Baekhyun to scramble towards the stove. 

“You stayed,” Chanyeol says dumbly, not able to think of anything better when he currently feels like he’s in cloud nine. 

“You’re not going to get rid of me for a while.” Baekhyun turns around to smile at him, one that he returns wholeheartedly. Chanyeol couldn’t even describe the feelings he’s currently experiencing if he tried, never in his life has it felt to intensely good to see someone again. He finds himself touching Baekhyun once more, checking if this is not a mere figment of his imagination. 

“Really?” 

“Yes. A colleague of mine visited me in a dream last night. He told me that working on something to combat the poison on the demon’s blade might take several decades. And even after it’s done, I can decide to stay on Earth.” Baekhyun throws away some food which is so burned it’s beyond recognition, before turning his full attention to Chanyeol. 

“So you’re going to stay forever?” Hope blooms in his chest, something he hasn’t felt in a long time. It spreads through his entire body, until he can feel a pleasant buzz even at the tips of his toes. 

“Am I? You never asked,” Baekhyun teases, unintentional making fun of Chanyeol’s ‘don’t explicitly ask’ rule. 

The last thing Chanyeol wants is make Baekhyun feel unwanted. Although it was teasing, there is still a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. “I’m asking now,” Chanyeol assures the other, hoping to squash any doubt Baekhyun has about staying with him. 

“I’ll stay for as long as you’ll have me.” 

 

 

 

10 years later

It’s been over a decade, and Chanyeol can say with full conviction that he hasn’t had enough of Baekhyun, something that won’t happen anytime soon. Together they’ve been through a lot, the two of them. Several jobs, Baekhyun even switched majors after two years when he noticed his motivation and interest started decreasing, but he pulled through in the end, graduating with flying colours. With the jobs they have now they were able to afford a house with a decently sized garden, an absolute must when you have three young children running around. The both of them wanted children, so that conversation was over quickly. The debate was more about when and how many. A lovely woman has blessed them with three healthy children, fulfilling Baekhyun’s and Chanyeol’s wish for their kids to be related. Both the twins and their youngest daughter have little specks of green in their otherwise brown eyes, something they got from their mother. They’re all very lively, always chatting away in their still limited vocabulary, an aspect in which they clearly resemble their fathers. 

Even in between taking care of their kids and getting full time jobs, Chanyeol and his friends have managed to keep in contact, something he is grateful for. The stories they tell each other every week have changed from drunk escapades to annoying colleagues and weird things they catch their kids doing. The ‘get drunk and watch dumb films’ Friday nights have been replaced by ‘bring your kids to Chanyeol’s and Baekhyun’s’ Sundays, something that was bound to happen over time. Minseok and Jongdae are accompanied by their little bundles of energy, both screaming and chasing Chanyeol’s and Baekhyun’s eldest suns. Jongdae always jokes that his children got their loud voices from him, even though they resemble neither Minseok nor Jongdae with their blue eyes and thick, curly hair. Kyungsoo’s and Sehun’s only child is still too young to play with the others, his big eyes taking in everything with noticeable curiosity wrapped in a blanket on Sehun’s lap. 

It might not be an extremely exciting or glamorous life, but it’s perfect. Both he and Baekhyun have found a job that they enjoy and all of the guys are not doing bad for themselves either. It’s safe to say that Chanyeol hasn’t felt the loneliness he suffered from in his early twenties ever again, their house always filled with laugher when he’s home. His eyes wander to Baekhyun trying his hardest to balance himself while simultaneously twirling all of their children around, the four of them wearing matching smiles. There is no doubt in Chanyeol’s mind that this is the most heavenly sight he has had the pleasure of witnessing. It makes him glad that heaven is able to miss one of their angels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone who still has any teeth left after the amount of tooth-rotting fluff at the end of this chapter gets a full refund


End file.
